


A New Normal

by Kizmet



Series: Tear Me Down [4]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-26 15:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 145,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2657843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kizmet/pseuds/Kizmet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For better or worse the promises you give define you.  Rin and Bon adjust to their new bond while Shima looks for a way out of a certain promise he made.  Meanwhile the Exorcist Exam draws near; Rin got off on a technicality when the Exam failed to happen last year but the Grigori's ultimate still stands: Pass or Die.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude: The Oracle at Delphi

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Characters and premise are the property of Kazue Kato. I’m just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.

“All that is left is to seal the deal,” Mephisto announced.  The lights went out again and when the torches flickered back to life the rescuers and escapees were back in the massive chamber that housed Gaia’s center, the Naval of the World.  Mephisto produced a penknife with a flourish and handed it to Shiemi.  “I don’t have a contract so a handshake will have to suffice.”

Shiemi bit her lip then drew the knife across the breathe of her palm.  A thin line of blood welled up from the cut.  “I, Moriyama Shiemi, agree to be Gaia’s agent in Assiah, to guard the wellbeing of her children with every resource available to me.  To lend Gaia my eyes, my hands, my feet and my ears from the hour of three in the afternoon to the hour of six so that she might walk among her children and offer them aid.”  She pressed her bloody hand to the glowing Omphalos.  “I agree to this for two decades that the youngest of the children may have a sanctuary in which to grow to adulthood.”  

“I, Gaia, accept Moriyama Shiemi as my agent and give her access to my power to wield in the defense of my children,”  Gaia replied.  “I limit my possession of her body to the hours of three in the afternoon to the hour of six and I limit my possession to her eyes, her hands, her feet and her ears.  Neither her heart nor her mind is mine to join with at any time.  At the end of two decades this arrangement will end, although a new arrangement may be negotiated at that time.”  There was a flash, when Shiemi withdrew, a deep red hand print was left on the white stone and the cut on her hand was healed, but the scar left behind was the green of new leaves.  

“So this means we don’t have to worry about you merging with Gaia anymore?” Shima asked.

Shiemi smiled and nodded as she walked back to the others.  “I’ll stay me, except for the three hours when Gaia borrows my body, then I’ll be here.”

“And I wanted to be the one to save the day for Shiemi-chan,” he said with a rueful chuckle as he scratched  the back of his head.  

Shiemi smiled at him, “It’s the thought that counts.”

Mephisto turned to Gaia.  “Allow me to offer you a welcoming present,” He said reaching out toward the Omphalos but stopping short.  “Remember Delphi as it was when it was the center of the world rather than a keepsake of a past Assiah.”  

“What are you up to Samuel?” Gaia asked, but she sounded curious rather than accusing.

Mephisto laid both hands on the glowing stone, his eyes fell shut.  “Remember, my lady.”

On the surface above the cavern the ruins of Delphi sprawled across a terraced slope south of Mount Parnassus.  Mephisto’s power spread across the land in a massive pulse.  An echo of Delphi at it’s height shimmered, translucently, overlaying the modern day ruins.  

With each pulse of power the echo gained substance and solidity until it was the ruins that appeared as a ghostly image of what was to come then faded away altogether.  In it’s wake Delphi stood reborn, glittering marble columns, broad paved streets, empty and waiting for it’s new inhabitants, it’s new era.   

The band of refugees climbed up the stone stairs and exited into a perfectly round structure, it’s roof supported by twenty-two graceful columns.  The sun was setting over a lush, steep-sided valley.  In the distance, far below, they could see the the Gulf of Corinth, it’s waters reflecting the dying light back to the sky.

“Well, looks like shelter won’t be an issue,” Neuhaus remarked pragmatically while Shiemi stared in wonder, across a small valley to the city proper, restored to its ancient glory.  “We need to see what sort of access we’ve got to water,” Neuhaus continued.  “I imagine this place isn’t on the power grid... or the sewer system.  We’ll need to figure out how we’re going to feed everyone.”       

Shiemi smiled.  “I think I’ll be able to help with that,” she said thinking that it would actually be very nice to have somewhere to direct Gaia’s power.

 

While the others started walking toward the restored city that was to become their new home Shima hung back.  He loitered at the top of the stairs until Mephisto joined him.  “Sir Pheles?” he asked softly once everyone else was out of earshot.  “May we speak?”

“Hmmm, very polite approach,” Mephesto observed.  “You must be in deep trouble.”

“Only because I’m changing my mind,” Shima replied.  “Remember that.”

* * *

When Shima and Mephisto joined the rest of the party in the restored city of ancient Delphi Shima was surprised to see that there were a number of new people mingling with the refugees, handing out blankets and food.  In the mixture of saffron, black and white robed figures Shima picked out Theravada and Myodha Buddhists, Hindu priests and Jain monks.  “I guess Nishiki got the word out after all,’ he muttered to himself.

A slim young man with short dark hair separated himself from the crowd when he saw Shima walking up the road and ran over, his white and red stole flapping behind him.  Before Shima could react he was hauled into rough hug that quickly mutated into having his hair mussed mercilessly.  

“Juu-ni!  Cut it out!” Shima protested, futilely trying to shove his older brother away.  He felt raw from his confession to Mephisto and the last thing he wanted to deal with was his family.

Disregarding Shima’s struggles, Juuzo kept a secure hold on his younger brother but he switched to holding him at an arm’s length, the better to look him over.  “You look okay,” Juuzo said.  For a moment his expression was one of pure relief then he put on a stern face.  “What were you thinking pulling shit like this?”

“Geeze, I left Bon in good hands,” Shima whined, his normal easy-going manner felt like a straightjacket, but it was all he had so he tried to make it fit.  He scowled as he remembered what Nishiki had told him.  “I heard you guys were being mean to Rin-kun... and over a job I don’t even want!”

“What did you expect?”  Juuzo exclaimed.  “You disappear and Bon shows up with some other guy taking your place as if you going missing didn’t matter at all.  Hell no we weren’t going to let that pass.”  Juuzo shifted to a scolding tone.  “Renzo, protecting the High Priest and his successor is a huge honor for our family.  It’s not busywork for you to shove off on just anyone.  Do you have any idea how often the Hojo try to argue that it should be their responsibility?”

“Speaking of the Hojo, what are you doing here anyway?  Shouldn’t you be planning your wedding or something?” Shima deflected desperately.  

Juuzo’s expression softened into something bittersweet.  “I’ve always had a thing for Mamushi.  She’s so driven, so sure of herself.  I always wanted to impress her.  Now I guess I’ll never know if she said yes because she likes me too or because she didn’t have anywhere else to go when I asked,” he said.  “Anyway, after Nishiki told us what you’d been up to, well, Mamushi and I discussed it.  We both want lots of kids.  So we decided why not start off by adopting?  If we weren’t engaged, I think Mamushi would probably be making plans to move here permanently to help you guys out.”

Then Juuzo scowled.  “Don’t distract me!  You abandoned your responsibilities!  For all we knew you could have been dead!  What would Take think of you?”

Shima had heard that all his life: ‘What would Take think?’ ‘Take is the pride of the Shima family.’ ‘You must live in a way that would make Take proud.’  He knew he should have been inured to it, but at that moment Juuzo’s words, the inseparable mixture of affection and disapproval that always characterized Shima’s interactions with his family, felt like acid being poured over his soul.  Years of anger and resentment bubbled up and spilled out in an uncontrollable rush.  Shima stomped viciously on Juuzo’s instep and twisted free of his older brother’s grasp.  “Don’t you mean you wish I was dead?” he demanded furiously. “That’s what you always mean isn’t it?  That I should have died instead of Take.”

Juuzo stared at his younger brother stocked and horrified.  “Ren, you don’t really think that,” he stammered.

“How the fuck could I think anything else!”  Shima shouted, his raised voice drew the attention of the nearby crowd.  “Every day, every damn day of my life, you all constantly tell me how much better Take was than me.  So why don’t you finally just admit you wish I’d been the one to die that day not him!  That you hate me because it was my fault Take died.”  Shima smirked bitterly, “You know all the times you told me to think about what Take would do?  I never told you, but I couldn’t remember him for at all for the longest time.  Guess what?  I finally remembered, that day at least.  Why didn’t you ever tell me that Bon was already safe, that Take only died because he came back for me?  It would have explained a whole lot.  But I guess that would tarnish his perfect image, having everyone know that Take died saving someone as worthless as me.”

Mephisto discreetly pretended that he couldn’t hear Shima’s outburst, as did the majority of the crowd  milling about.  But Shiemi and Mamushi watched with concern and sympathy as Juuzo struggled and failed to find the words to make things right.

“Just shut up,” Shima’s voice cracked.  “You’re a decade too late to sell me on anything.  I’m done pretending to be blind and stupid.  The only thing I ever could have done to impress you or Dad was die and I’m not interested.”  He stepped back and threw his staff at Juuzo’s feet.  “Tell Dad he can have that back, ‘cause I want nothing to do with being a Shima man or Myodha.  Screw the lot of you!”

Shima turned and stormed away.  After a few moments, Juuzo knelt and picked up the staff.  He stared at it helplessly.  Shiemi frowned at him, “Go after him!” she ordered. “Tell him he’s wrong.”

“I don’t know how to make him believe me,” Juuzo admitted.  He shook his head looking stunned.  “I never had a clue Ren was thinking any of that.”  Mamushi broke away from the crowd and went to her fiance.

Shiemi huffed in frustration, she turned her back on them and went after Shima herself.  It took her nearly an hour of searching through the many small shrines lining the streets of Delphi before she caught a glimpse of pink through one of the windows.  Shiemi slipped inside the building, Shima was sitting on the ground, his head tilted back against the wall as he stared blankly at the ceiling.  “Shima-kun?  Are you going to be okay?” Shiemi asked tentatively.

  
Shima glanced at her tiredly.  “Why don’t you call me Renzo?” he suggested.  “Seeing as how I just kicked myself out of my family.”    


	2. Kyoto Summer

After the ceremony that had formally bound Rin as Bon’s retainer things began to settle into a routine.  Shiemi and Shima had turned up in Delphi, safe and sound.  Juuzo was assigned to head the group sent to figure out what to do with their refugees and to bring the two missing Exwires home, Mamushi went with him.  It was decided that the other four 2nd year Exwires would spend the rest of their summer break with the Myodha.  

One morning about a week after the ceremony, Rin looked around dining hall and grinned at the sight of people enjoying his food.   “We should go sight-seeing,” he announced after he and the other Exwires finished their own breakfasts.  “My junior  high class took a field trip to Kyoto but I didn’t get to come.”  Rin held up a brochure.  “I wanna see the Kyoto Tower.”

Bon wrinkled his nose, “That place is an eyesore.”  Then he sighed, “Not that I have time to go sight-seeing anyway;  more Council meetings.”

“Oh,” Rin said, his tail drooped and he scuffed his toe along the floor guiltily.  “Are they going to yell at you some more?”

“Don’t you go feeling bad about that,” Bon scolded.  “It was my choice… And I think they’re over me going off script during the ceremony.  Besides, they aren’t really mad about the changes I made to our oath, so much as that I didn’t clear it with them first.  But that doesn’t mean you and Kamiki can’t go sightseeing.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Izumo interjected.  “...Even if it came from Suguro.”  Bon scowled at her in return but decided against rising the bait.

“You’re sure?” Rin asked uncertainly.  “There’s nothing I can do to help with the council?”

“You should go,” Konekomaru said with terribly serious expression.  “It will make it much easier to talk about you if you aren’t there.”  

“Gee thanks,” Rin groused.  

“I’m not just teasing but don’t worry,” Konekomaru said patting Rin’s hand and smiling.  “The Council mostly needs to talk about capitalizing on the good feelings your display created.”

Bon rested his hand on Rin’s shoulder for a moment.  “It’s okay.  I wasn’t supposed to take over from my dad as head priest for another ten years or so, but we can’t go back now so they’re trying to cram a decade of preparation into a couple of weeks.”

“You saved all of Kyoto from the Impure King.  Good news: no one associated with the Kyoto Branch treats you like a pariah anymore.  Bad news: you’re getting assigned Exwire chores like the rest of us and Mom’s still got you filling in for the Ryokan’s chef.  Plus Angel as much as said he’d be back for us the moment his unit gets assigned a mission.  This is summer break you should get to have some fun; Koneko and I are consumed with all the restructuring in the Myodha; but you and Kamiki aren’t so take advantage of it.”  

A few hours later, Rin found himself crammed into a crowded train car headed to Arashiyama, one arm wrapped lightly around Izumo’s waist so they wouldn’t get separated.  They got lunch from a street vendor near the Togetsukyo Bridge then walked through the bamboo groves and saw several temples.  As they headed back toward the train station, Rin bought a little fox charm for Izumo’s phone.  

“We should go to Kyoto Tower next,” Izumo declared as they looked at the different stops.  

Rin waffled indecisively.  “We don’t really have to go there,” he said.

Izumo scowled.  “It was the first thing you mentioned.  You want to see it, so we’re going there.  Who cares what Suguro thinks.”

“Yeah, I guess, it’s not like I’m making him come with us,” Rin said hesitantly.

Izumo grabbed his arm and dragged him up to the kiosk and got them both tickets for the Kyoto Station.  “We’re going,” she informed Rin.  When their train arrived at it’s destination, Izumo marched straight over to the ticketing window with Rin in tow and purchased tickets for the observation deck without giving Rin another chance to protest.  

As the elevator rose so did Rin’s excitement.  When the class trip been announced, he’d immediately been drawn to the pamphlets about the tall, modern looking spire towering over the city.  Then his teacher had looked at him and declared that anyone who got detention in the two weeks before the trip wouldn’t be allowed to come.  Rin had tried to stay out of trouble, he’d really tried, but it hadn’t been enough.  Trouble followed him and so did teachers looking to give detention.  Rin had wanted to see the Kyoto Tower for years, not going now that he had the chance, just because Bon didn’t approve of the structure would have been stupid.  He grinned down at Izumo, “Thanks,” he whispered as the elevator doors slid open.  He ran out and peered through one of the telescopes swiveling it this way and that.  

In the end the two of them stayed and watched the sun set from the observation deck.  Standing beside Izumo as the last rays of the day caught on the railing, Rin screwed up his courage.  He tugged lightly on her arm.  When she turned to look at him Rin lunged forward before he could have second thoughts.  They collided, lips mashing uncomfortably against teeth.  Izumo’s hands fluttered in confusion for a moment then settled on Rin’s waist, keeping him from pulling back.  They sorted out pressure and noses and for several moments just stood there, Rin leaning down and Izumo stretching up, their lips pressed together.  

“Was that okay?” Rin asked nervously, avoiding Izumo’s eyes.  Izumo nodded, her cheeks pink.  “Really okay.”   The bus wasn’t particularly full as they rode back to the Ryokan that night, but Rin kept his arm around Izumo anyway and kissed her again before they let themselves into the Ryokan.  

     

* * *

The next day Bon sat on the steps outside the old Myodha temple talking with Karura as they watched Rin and Ucchusma work to refine Rin’s control over his flames.  

“You are flame as much as you are flesh,” Ucchusma declared sternly.  “Once you accept that fact, controlling them will be no different from controlling your limbs.”

Rin scowled fiercely, a glove of flames formed around his hand.  Gritting his teeth, he reached out and picked up a pebble, only using the clawed fingertips of the flame-glove.  He managed to lift the pebble almost an inch off the ground before the flames lost solidity and it slipped through his grasp.  “Damn!” Rin swore.

“Try again,” Ucchusma instructed.  “You know you can dissolve your flesh and consciousness into flame and reform yourself.  What makes you so certain that you are truly flesh?”

Rin heaved a deep sigh and reached for the pebble again.  

“What exactly did Rin do to the Myodha’s demon bonds?” Bon asked Karura quietly.  “All I know is that it felt good to everyone, really cleared the air, but the Council wants a more specific idea of what was changed.”

“Have you asked Rin-kun?” Karura asked.

“He doesn’t know,” Bon admitted.  “Says he was just acting on instinct.  And, man, do I believe that coming from Rin.”

Karura fluffed his wings a bit.  “In Gehenna, according to popular belief, Assiah was created as a testing ground for young demons to compete through our human game pieces,” he said.  “But there is another legend, currently fallen from favor, that Assiah was created first and that demons- angels originally existed to serve humans.  According to the legend we were created to find joy in enslavement.  Satan, however, was born with clear eyes… or born flawed depending on who tells the story.”

Bon snorted.  “Isn’t that always the case?”

“He saw our enslavement for what it was and there came a day when the skies of Gehenna burned blue.  And then we all saw through his eyes.”

“So for you Satan’s the hero of the story,” Bon said.  “Your liberator.”

Karura folded his wings fastidiously.  “To some.  The legend continues to say that the first Assiah drowned in blood as the angels ripped free of their bonds and fell.  That only the very strongest rose again as demons.  And of course, there was a war, so not everyone agreed with Satan’s opinion even after seeing what he saw.”

“Okay, so you’re saying maybe Rin did something similar to our bonds?”  Bon asked.  “But that doesn’t make sense, Rin got rid of a lot of built up resentment.”

“He purged the bonds of emotion,” Karura corrected.  “As the legend claims Satan did.  Demon Oaths can bind emotion; the oath that binds me to the Myo-o-Dharani head priest demands the generation of suspicion.  Because my oath was with the head priest that emotion tainted the entire network.”

“Why would you do that?” Bon demanded.

“To survive,” Karura replied simply.  “Suspicion was the emotion Rin-kun cleansed from the bonds, for a few minutes we looked at what had been wrought free of suspicion.  The legend claims that the angel’s bonds generated joy from servitude.  For humans I demanded lies and secrets to generate suspicion.  From a demon the promise is enough to make it fact:  joy, love, loyalty, hate, fear; to promise the emotion is to have it imprinted on your soul.  But if the legend is true, the blue flames can remove the imprint.  From Rin-kun’s demonstration it seems that even residual emotion that eventually infect the bonds can be removed, for humans as well as demons.”

* * *

****  


Shima Yaozo hesitated in the middle of handing out the day’s assignments to the Exorcists assigned to the Kyoto Branch.  “Okumura, Kamiki, I know you aren’t normally paired together and neither of you are local, but Ryuji and Koneko are needed to  speak with some of the outlying constituents about the current situation in the Myodha.”

“It’s okay,” Rin replied. “What do you need?”

* * *

“Do you think he would have been less hesitant to ask if it weren’t a typical, see how boring and dirty of a task we can come up with for Exwires, task?” Izumo asked later that afternoon as she and Rin trudged through a marsh searching for a variety of plant used in treating templates to replenish the Kyoto Branch’s stock which had been spent treating the injuries from recent attacks.  

It was a hot, humid day.  Rin’s jacket and Izumo’s sweater had been left hanging on a tree branch near the road where they’d been dropped off several hours earlier, their socks and shoes discarded and Rin had rolled up his pant legs to wade into the marsh searching for the plants on their list, half of which were technically demons themselves, members of the Earth Kingdom.

Izumo spotted a demon-tuber and quickly recited, “A devakanya who had watched the devas listening to the Dharma in Vimalakirti’s room appeared in bodily form to shower flowers on the Bodhisattvas and the chief disciples of the Buddha. When the flowers fell on the Bodhisattvas, they fell to the ground, but when they fell on the chief disciples, they stuck to their bodies and did not drop in spite of all their efforts to shake them off.”  Once the demon plant had been pacified she plucked it and dropped it in her sack.  

Rin tried to repeat her maneuver but stumbled half-way through the verse.  The demon plant snickered.  Rin gave it a dark look, hell-fire flickering in his eyes, and it cringed submissively.  Deciding that was good enough Rin collected the cowed plant.

“We’ve got all day,” Izumo scolded.  “You should learn that sutra at least.  You still have to pass the recitation section of the Exorcist Exam in January.”

Rin wrinkled his nose in distaste but knew Izumo was right.  The next time they found one of the demon plant, Izumo coached him through multiple attempts on the verse until Rin eventually said it well enough to subdue the demon without resorting to his flames.

Then they came across patch of calcitrappa.  Izumo waded out further into the water and reached beneath the floating leaves to grab the plant by it’s  roots only to slip on the muddy streambed.  She came up sputtering, a long strand of algae hanging over her face.  “Don’t laugh!” she told Rin crossly.

“You got a-” Rin leaned over to pluck the algae off Izumo’s face.  His eyes gleamed with suppressed amusement.  Then he noticed the effect on Izumo’s shirt and froze, his face heating up, ‘Don’t look,’ he told himself.  ‘Stop looking.’

Izumo, only noticing the earlier amusement at her expense took advantage of Rin’s awkward position: frozen, half reaching down for her.  She grabbed the front of his shirt and twisted, rolling him into the shallow water and ended up pinning him beneath her.  Rin sat up, spitting out water.  Izumo glared, her hands on his shoulders, threatening to dunk him again.  Rin felt like he could fry an egg on his cheeks as he tried to keep his eyes up and not think about Izumo straddling his lap.  Izumo finally noticed both her near transparent top and her position and turned as red as Rin who had started stammering apologies, even though it wasn’t his fault she’d fallen in the water and even less his fault that she’d dumped him in as well.  Izumo started giggling and leaned into Rin’s shoulder.  Rin’s apologies trailed off uncertainly. 

The was a bit muddy but notably cooler than the air and the coolness of the water emphasized the heat of Izumo’s body against his.  “Well, it’s not like either of can worry about getting the other wet,” Izumo said and kissed Rin.  Izumo kissed with fierce determination, as nervous and inexperienced as Rin but hellbent on getting it right.  As she focused on kissing her weight settled more firmly onto Rin’s lap.

Rin braced his hands behind him to keep Izumo from dunking them both as she leaned into him, their mouths moving together.  Rin’s skin tingled everywhere they touched, even when it was through multiple layers of clothing.  He held perfectly still, uncertain as to what he should do but not wanting to anything that might dissuade Izumo.  Neither one of them wanted to break the kiss long enough to breath.

Then suddenly, Rin picked Izumo up and swung her off his lap.  Still sitting in the water, blushing hotly, Rin pulled his knees up toward his chest.  

After a moment of confusion Izumo caught on.  She sat back down beside Rin, not quite looking at him.  “Water’s nice and cool on a hot day like today,” she remarked randomly.

“Not cold enough,” Rin mumbled.

Izumo giggled.  “Sorry!” She clapped a hand over her mouth to cage the giggles that still threatened.

“It was great,” Rin said, a dazed smile spreading across his face.  “I just don’t want you thinking I’m a pervert or anything.”

“We should go back to gathering herbs,” Izumo decided, for a brief moment her gaze drifted downward.  “Once…”  
  
“Yeah,” Rin agreed with a renewed flush.

* * *

“You’re in a good mood,” Tatsuma commented as he passed through the kitchen and found Rin absently humming to himself as he fixed dinner.  “I take it Yaozo’s mission wasn’t too boring?”

Rin’s dazed smile returned as he thought about how he and Izumo had spent the afternoon.  Then he blushed at his own thoughts.

“Ohhhh, so it’s like that,” Tatsuma said with understanding and gentle amusement.

“I thought Bon and Koneko were going to be gone overnight,” Rin changed the subject.

“They are,” Tatsuma confirmed.  “Me not coming along sends a much stronger message about the shift in leadership.  The Myoo Dharani Exorcists were almost all on-hand both for the revelations and for the binding ceremony, but those of us who are only associated with the clan or the temple still need to be informed.  We felt the secrets that came out would be better received if it were clear that Ryuji has assumed the role of Head Priest.  Even though he’s my son everyone knows how little influence I have over him.”

“That’s not true,” Rin objected.  “But I guess Bon is pretty loud when he disagrees with something.  Still the whole thing sort of sucks; you were doing your best to make things right for everyone.”

“Thank you,” Tatsuma replied.  “My ultimate goal was achieved, but I myself wonder how much was it because of me and how much was it inspite of me.  Because I learned one of my father’s secrets early it was a much simpler decision to surrender Kurikara to Fujimoto Shiro; I knew Kurikara was nothing more than an empty symbol to the Myodha and that made it easy to trust my impression that he was a good person who would do the right thing… even when he claimed otherwise.  Because of that decision you were here to share the burden with Ryuji when my plan to defeat the Impure King failed.”

Rin scrunched his nose.  “You needed a little help, what does it matter?  Without you Bon and I wouldn’t have had a plan at all.”

Tatsuma shook his head sadly.  “Because of my lies Mamushi-chan was left vulnerable to Saburota’s manipulation.  If she’d known more he wouldn’t have been able to deceive her.  He might have found another way to reach the Eye, but she would still have both her eyes and would not have been disowned by her father.  I didn’t want to burden Ryuji with our family’s obligations or secrets, but I have an obligation to all the children of the Myodha, not just my own.  And in the end it was you and Ryuji who destroyed the Impure King, not I.  My actions and the cost of them matter more than my intentions.”    

“The whole council knew and agreed,” Rin argued.  “But you’re the only one getting in trouble… And the Council still listens to you more than Bon.”

“They didn’t know everything; they didn’t know that I always planned to destroy the Impure King.”  Tatsuma chuckled.  “But, you’re more aware than we give you credit for.  Ryuji hasn’t quite realized that yet, or won’t admit it anyway.”

Rin rolled his eyes.  “I get why this whole thing gives Bon a headache.  People were mad cause ya lied to ‘em and you’re fixing it with more lies.  And even the people who were mad about being lied to are okay with lying to the True Cross ‘cause you don’t want them knowing that Bon’s the Head Priest already.”

“They can’t know,” Tatsuma said seriously.  “They won’t take it well when they realize you are ours not theirs.  And Ryuji cannot be in their hierarchy and openly be the Head Priest of the Myodha.”

“I know, they’ll kill me,” Rin sighed.  “It just sucks for Bon.  He hates all this lying.”

* * *

“It will be done,” Angel declared.  He stood and bowed to the man he knew as Baltazar then turned to leave the Grigori member’s spacious office.

“One last thing Arthur,” Baltazar said.  “Take the Son of Satan with you on this mission.”

Angel turned back to the man with a frown.  “I took personal responsibility for overseeing Okumura and Suguro’s training missions because Okumura was being assigned to tasks inappropriate for an Exwire.  I cannot, in good conscious, turn around and take him into combat against a Grand Duke of Hell.”

“We cannot afford to waste the Paladin’s time on missions suitable for an Exwire,” Baltazar replied.  “Surely you realize that?  The only reason you were assigned to mentor the hellspawn was because we needed someone both beyond reproach and capable of destroying him should it be discovered that Sir Pheles’ estimate of his worth prove flawed.”

“I am aware.  I no longer have any reservations about my role,” Angel said.  “I initially doubted the Grigori when I was told to train the Son of Satan while evaluating the threat he represented to Assiah.  However, after eight months of close association with Okumura, I must admit that you were much wiser than I.  The boy will be a fine weapon against Satan once he is fully trained.”

“I recognize that my missions are beyond the scope that an Exwire would normally be allowed to participate in,  however, even within the tasks undertaken by my battalion there is a range,” Angel continued.  “The Grand Duke calls for a very small, elite team.  Lightning and I had intended to bring Okumura and Suguro along on mission where the containment squad is of use.  Suguro’s barrier spells are adequate, he wouldn’t be a burden on them.  He would be both off the front line and under the direct supervision of more advanced Arias.  As Suguro’s knight Okumura would naturally be assigned to his protection.  I believe, under those circumstances, Okumura’s natural impulsiveness would be curbed by his oath to Suguro.”

Baltazar grimaced at the mention of Rin and Bon’s oath.  “A solid plan, but too conservative,” he disagreed.  “Surely you can’t be implying that Eligor is more of a threat than the Impure King?”

“No,” Angel said.  “But I would not have sent Okumura against the Impure King.”

“The results of that battle speak for themselves,” Baltazar replied.

“Luck does not…” Angel began then remembered to whom he was speaking.  “Okumura and Suguro will accompany me on this mission.”

* * *

Rin’s eyes widened with surprise when he saw Mephisto Pheles and Arthur Angel walk down the stairs into the Ryokan’s dining area.  “Hi, how’d you guys get here?” he greeted them after putting down the pan of scrambled eggs he’d been adding to the morning buffet.

“Your living area is a pig pen,” Angel informed him.  “After our mission I expect you to pick up after yourself.  Now, where is Surugo?”

“I’m here,” Bon said as he came through the backdoor.

“Suguro-kun, my condolences to your father,” Mephisto said, although his tone suggested they were sharing an inside joke rather than sincerity.  “We in the True Cross have been informed that his injuries, sustained in battle against the traitor Saburota and the Impure King, will limit his ability to carry out his duties as the Myodha Head Priest.”

“That’s right,” Bon said stiffly.  

“We’re told that you will begin assuming some of his duties.  Still your parents wish for you to complete your schooling.” Mephisto continued.  He nodded toward Angel.  “And this one won’t wait for your vacation to end before resuming your internship.”  He produced a pair of keys with a magician’s flourish.  “Bowing to pressure from both sides I have established a gate connecting your bedroom closet in the Old Dorm to your bedroom closet here in Kyoto.  That should aid you in keeping up with your responsibilities here even after the school year resumes.”

“Thanks,” Bon said gruffly as he and Rin accepted their new keys.  

“If that is settled, we have to be going,” Angel stated.  “Lightning is fetching one of the Order’s vehicles for us as we speak.”

****  
  



	3. A Knight's Challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had originally planned to switch between Delphi and Japan every other chapter, but events are moving more quickly for the group in Japan. And there’s more story to tell on the the Japan side before the two groups reunite. So I’m thinking it will probably be two chapters in Japan for every one in Delphi.

Rin and Bon traded a bewildered look when Lightning drove into a parking garage in an upscale neighborhood.  “I didn’t think you did traditional exorcisms,” Rin commented to Angel.  “Isn’t that an Aria thing?”

“I’ll have you know that I am a fully qualified Aria!” Angel huffed.  “And who said we were here for a traditional exorcism?”

Bon elbowed Rin, “He’s the Paladin, he’s got all the Meisters.”

“That’s the rule?” Rin asked, looking disheartened.  

Angel suffered a sudden coughing fit.    

“There’s no way I’m ever going to get Aria,” Rin sighed.  “I can’t even figure how I’m going to manage the general requirement for the Exorcist Exam in January.”

“The Paladin isn’t actually required to have every Meister,” Lightening reassured Rin.  Then he grinned slyly at Angel, “Isn’t that right?”

“I don’t have Doctor,” Angel muttered, flushing slightly.

“And you’ve only got a Limited Tamer,” Lightning added cheerfully.  

“Sometimes you talk too much,” Angel complained as Lightning explained to Rin and Bon, “Caliburn counts as a familiar, but Angel doesn’t actually have the talent to summon.  Some people have a strong natural ability in that area, most can learn at least enough to call up demons who have a general contract with the Order, but then there are some people who have no aptitude for summoning at all.”

“On to business,” Angel stated firmly.  

“The demons are probably too scared of you to answer your summons,” Lightning continued blithly.  He patted Angel on the shoulder in mock sympathy.  

Angel ignored Lightning and glared at Rin and Bon instead. “The two of you are strictly here to observe.  Once I confront the demon don’t even speak!”

Rin rolled his eyes thinking of his early days at the True Cross Academy; tagging along with Yukio on his missions and constantly being told to do nothing as if he’d cause a disaster by simply breathing the air.

“I mean it!” Angel snapped.  “Do not draw the demon’s attention.”

“Fine, we’ll just watch.  Right?” Bon said.

Rin immediately stopped pouting and nodded.

The four of them walked for several blocks until they were standing outside a tall apartment building.  Angel pressed the buzzer for the penthouse suite.  A soft click indicated that the intercom had been activated.  “Arthur Auguste Angel, Paladin of the of the True Cross.  In the name of God, I challenge you,” he announced himself.

A deep booming laugh answered him.  “So they’ve tired of sending small fry.  I will be right down Paladin Angel.”  

“That guy was the demon?” Bon asked when Angel stepped away from the intercom.  Wondering at the odd way the speaker had emphasized Angel’s name.

“That was Eligor, a Grand Duke of Hell and one of Azazel’s most trusted lieutenants,” Lightning confirmed.

“And we just walked up and rang his doorbell?” Bon asked.

“How else would I challenge him?” Angel replied.  

“Eligor was discovered by a  local priest,” Lightning said.  “We’re the fourth Exorcist team to be sent after him.  The others were slaughtered to a man.  But in past generations he conducted himself as a knight, which means he should answer a challenge and may even limit himself to fight as a knight.  That makes our Angel the ideal person to send against him.”

The door to the apartment building swung open and a  handsome, broadly built man, taller than even Angel, stepped out.  His eyes swept over Angel and locked onto Caliburn.  “So, Knight of the Cross, you are of that blood.  Come to challenge me with the very sword your ancestors stole from me?”

“Do you accept my challenge?” Angel asked tersely.

“What are your terms?” Eligor asked.

“We continue until either your soul or mine departs Assiah,” Angel said.

Eligor laughed again.  “If our acquaintance wasn’t going to be so short I could grow to like you, Blondie.  Do you have a son or will Caliburn have finally drank the last of your house’s life and return to me once this battle is done?”

Angel gave the demon a haughty look and flipped his waist-length hair over his shoulder.  “Do I appear to have much need of Caliburn’s aid?”  Angel pointed to a rooftop several streets over, “Shall we make that our battlefield?”

“Yes, enough talk.  Let the blood begin to flow.”  Eligor agreed.  He leapt up, kicking off the vertical wall of the building to gain more altitude.  Angel followed him.  

Rin’s jaw dropped open. “I’m learning that next,” he whispered to himself as he, Bon and Lightning ran after them.  Rin jumped and grabbed the lowest rung of the fire-escape on the building Angel had chosen.  He pulled himself up then leaned back down to offer Bon a hand.  Lightning scrambled up, his fingers finding purchase between the bricks in the building.    

They heard the sound of swords clashing several flights before they reached the roof.  Rin raced up the last flight and threw himself on to the roof in time to see Angel and Eligor’s swords cross with a ringing clang.  For several moments the demon and human knight tested their strength against the other.  Neither gave an inch as their blades ground together drawing sparks.  In the light cast by the sparks Rin caught a glimpse of Eligor’s true appearance: a skeletal figure in black plate armor, grey skin stretched taut over a skull too triangular to be human with bone white antlers sprouting from his temples.   

The two combatant leapt apart.  They glared at each other from opposite edges of the roof, each studying the other for an opening.  Angel moved first, he swung Caliburn in a broad arc casting a shockwave of power off the blade.

Eligor stabbed his longsword into the roof and the wave broke on his blade.  Angel dove at him, trying to cleave the demon lord’s skull in two.  Eligor threw himself to one side and kicked Angel in the side as he came to his feet again.  Angel rolled across the roof.  Eligor smiled predatorily and pounced.

Rin bit through his lip.  Bon started to raise his beads to chant but Lightning caught the young Aria’s arm and pushed them down.  

Despite being down, Angel countered Eligor’s attack.  He used Caliburn’s size, bracing the point of his sword on the ground and slanting it across his body to nullify the advantage gravity gave Eligor.  Then Angel twisted Caliburn to the side and dumped the demon knight off him.  Caliburn hummed appreciatively as Angel rose to his feet.  But Eligor had also regained his stance so neither had an advantage.  

There was another pause as the combatants circled each other warily, searching for an opening.  

Angel darted forward, trusting that Caliburn’s massive size would cause his opponent to underestimate his speed; a mistake many of his adversaries had fallen victim to in the past.  

Eligor whipped around and blocked Angel’s attack with jarring force.  Then the Duke of Hell grinned, dug in and  shoved,   “Before, I held back,” he said as Angel was thrown completely clear of the roof.

Again Bon start to cast a barrier, hoping to catch Angel before he fell to his death and again Lightning stopped him from intervening.  Blood welled up around Rin’s nails as he clenched his fists hard enough to break the skin even in his human form.     

Before he’d fallen more than a dozen feet, Angel kicked off of the vertical side of a neighboring building, redirecting and controlling his momentum.  A moment later he landed in a crouch on the ledge of the roof they’d chosen as their battleground.

“Very good,” Eligor sketched a small salute to Angel.  “You are quite remarkable for a mere human, but the conclusion of this battle was a foregone conclusion.  There is no denying it; you may be my equal in speed, but I am stronger and I have had over seven hundred years to hone my skills.  The only question that remains is whether or not you call on Caliburn’s oath to win a pyrrhic victory.  With his full power at your disposal, you may be able to send both our souls on.”

Angel smiled grimly.  “You are fast and, I admit, my superior in strength.  But I have no need of centuries to achieve your level of skill.”

“Arrogant little human,” Eligor tsked.  “Your seconds will lament your folly.”  He went on the offensive forcing Angel to give ground with an unrelenting series of rapid, powerful strikes. Then the demon hooked his blade under Caliburn’s hilt and ripped the sword out of Angel’s hand.  

As Angel fought to keep from being disarmed he was pulled forward, into his opponent.  For a heartbeat the world held its breath then the two knights separated.  A dagger was buried to the hilt in Eligor’s chest.  The demon collapsed slowly to his knees.  Angel reclaimed Caliburn and raised the sword over Eligor’s neck.  

The Duke of Hell looked across the roof, staring into Rin’s eyes and the sky went dark.  A mad howling wind rose and whipped around them.  Angel’s eyes went blank, Caliburn began to slip from his suddenly lax grip.   Lightning reached into his poncho.  This time when Bon raised his prayer beads the older Exorcist didn’t stop him.  

Rin couldn’t move, couldn’t tear his eyes from Eligor’s.  Even if he could have found the strength to fight the other demon’s mesmeric presence, he knew Bon’s command would still hold him helpless.  

Eligor raised a hand and the winds ripped Bon and Lightning from the surface of the roof.  The danger to Bon broke Rin’s paralyse, he jumped up and grabbed both of the other Exorcists.  Rin’s momentum carried them back to the roof and he dug his claws in, anchoring them before Eligor could summon more power.   

“As a knight I was challenged and as a knight I answered,” Eligor stated, his eyes never leaving Rin’s.  “And so by the terms of the challenge, I die.  It would have been different had I been challenged and fought as a demon.  Ah well, my life here was over anyway, what with Exorcists crawling all over the place like fleas on a dog.  At least this knight has some sense of style, even if his ancestors were thieves.”  

The wind stopped and the daylight returned.  Angel snapped out of his daze, he caught Caliburn a moment before the sword would have slipped completely from his grasp and, in a single blow, severed Eligor’s head from his shoulders.   

Eligor’s body crumpled to the ground.  His head bounced across the roof until it came to rest against the ledge surrounding the roof.  

Angel returned Caliburn to his sheath then bent to reclaim the dagger.  “Normally I don’t carry two blades,” he said quietly to Rin.  “I only started recently in order to gain a better feel for the style of swordsmanship I’m teaching to you.”  

* * *

Rin stared pensively out the window as they drove away from Eligor’s building.  “Did he do something before we started attacking him?” he asked quietly.

“Hmm?” Angel asked.

“We were the fourth Exorcist team dispatched,” Lightning dissembled.  “The others all died.”

“Yeah, but what was Eligor doing BEFORE they attacked him?” Rin repeated.  “Was it something bad?”

Angel shrugged.  “He was a Duke of Hell and we found him in Assiah, of course he was up to no good.”  Lightning moved to elbow the Paladin but wasn’t fast enough to stop him from saying, “Demons don’t belong in Assiah.”

“Right, demons don’t deserve to live,” Rin said flatly.  

“You’re different,” Bon insisted loudly.  

Angel frowned at Lightning as if to say, ‘Aren’t you supposed to stop me from putting my foot in my mouth.’  Lightning shrugged in silent response, ‘I tried didn’t I?’

“Because I belong to you,” Rin said to Bon.

“Don’t say that,” Bon snapped, then his face went white.  “Fuck,” he swore.  “That’s why you didn’t try to help during the fight, I told you not to.  Damn it, I’m sorry Rin.  It’s not supposed to be like this.”

Rin turned back to the window looking unconvinced.  Bon grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back around.  “You’re my partner, my friend.  You don’t belong TO me, you belong WITH me, got that?” he said forcefully.

Rin smiled a little in response to Bon’s determination.  “Got it,” he said.  But it was still a mostly silent drive back to the True Cross Academy.

 

After Lightning returned the Order car to the Academy’s garage the senior Exorcists led Rin and Bon off campus instead of taking them straight back to the Od Dorm and the Gate to Kyoto that Mephisto had created.  Curiosity briefly distracted Rin from his thoughts, he traded a mystified look with Bon.

“It’s tradition to take your interns out to dinner after a successful mission,” Angel informed them stiffly.

A few blocks off campus Lightning opened a non-descript door and ushered them into a tiny hole-in-the-wall bar.  The room was barely bigger than Rin and Bon’s dorm room, a third of the space was taken up by a dark mahogany bar.  An old woman stood behind the bar.  Two women and a man, all foreigners, all wearing Order pins, sat on the bar stools.

“‘Bout time you got here,” the older of the two women said, her Japanese marred by a strange drawl.  “We were startin’ to think ya’d died.”   She wore a plaid shirt and a midcalf-length jean skirt.   

“Traffic was vicious,” Lightning said blandly after a slightly too long pause.  

The man glanced up at that.  “It must have been a close thing,” he said.  “Arthur isn’t remonstrating us for doubting him.”

“You have eyes,” Angel scoffed.  “I assumed they provided you with sufficient notification of my victory over Eligor.”

“Eyes work great; blood spots show on white,” the second woman said.  Her long red-hair was barely contained by the green scarf she wore over her head.  “I take it these two are your new tag-alongs?”

Angel gestured Rin and Bon forward.  “Our new Exwire Interns:  Okumura Rin, Knight-hopeful and Suguro Ryuji, Aria and Dragoon-Hopeful.”  He turned to Rin and Bon, his gestures encompassed the three strange Exorcists and Lightning.  “The True Cross’ Archknights: Durov Tereza, Tamer-Adept, Wang Zi, Aria-Adept, Oakley Annie, Dragoon-Adept, and of course you know Lightning, who serves as the Order’s current Doctor Adept.”

Bon nodded, it would have been a shorter list to ask the Archknights which Meisters they didn’t hold rather than the ones they did, but it was customary that between them, the four Archknights and Paladin served as the foremost representative of each of the five meisters.  From the way Lightning’s introduction had been phrased, Bon assumed he was equally skilled in at least one other meister and was acting as the Doctor-Adept because the other position had been easier to fill.

Rin cringed back almost hiding behind Bon while the Archknights sized him up.  “You know, with all the rumors about him, you’d think someone would mention that Satan’s son is a cute kid,” Annie remarked.  Rin flushed.  “And shy too,” she added grinning at Rin.               

Angel gave Bon and Rin a small push toward the empty seats next to the three Archknights while he and Lightning took the seats on the boys’ other side.  The proprietor brought out seven plates, piled high with mouthwatering food, without bothering to wait for them to order.  Rin and Bon hesitated for a moment, worrying about manners and making a good impression, but when the others dug in without pause they quickly followed suit.  Once significant inroads had been made on the plates the conversation resumed.

“Zi, you and your team are relocating nesting dragon next week,” Angel stated abruptly.  “Take them along.  Suguro in particular should get some experience working with other Arias.  Okumura will protect Suguro of course.  Leaving his Aria-partner’s protection to anyone else would cause undue stress.”         

“I don’t suppose you’re ranked in the Fire Kingdom?” Wang asked Rin.  

“I thought dragons were in the Water Kingdom,” Bon said scowling at the thought of having been given bad information.

“It’s a European dragon,”  Wang replied.  “Bulkier, more likely to be malevolent and breathes fire.  So...”  He looked back to Rin.

Rin grimaced.  “I don’t know.  My brother told me Iblis would hate me, I guess that means I’m not?”

Wang snorted.  “That means Iblis would see you as a threat.  My mission might have just turned easy.  Arthur, you mind if I have the kid talk to our dragon?  He might be strong enough to command it’s cooperation.”

“Only if Okumura is under your personal protection while he’s talking,” Angel stated.  “If it doesn’t listen you will NOT test whether Okumura’s flames are stronger than dragon-fire.”

“Looking out for Rin is my responsibility,” Bon objected.  He knew he wasn’t as strong as the Archknight, but he’d just met Wang Zi and, given their earlier experiences with Order Exorcists, Bon wasn’t sure how motivated the Aria-adept was to protect his knight.

Wang eyed the younger Aria thoughtfully.  “We heard about the stunt the two of you pulled in Kyoto.  How close did you come to killing yourself holding a barrier like that on your own?”

“Too close,” Rin answered for Bon.  

“I had a brutal headache for forty-eight hours afterwards,” Bon admitted grudgingly.   

Wang nodded.  “I’ll email you some chants that work well against Dragon-fire, memorize them before the mission and you can bolster my shields while we parlay.”  

“Alright, enough work!” Annie interrupted.  “Time to brag.  So boys, lets have a first hand account of the Impure King’s fall.”

Tereza gave Annie a disgusted look and held up her mug for more alcohol.

* * *

That evening at the Old Dorm, before Rin could gate back to Kyoto, Lightning pulled him aside.  “You were a little quiet at dinner,” he commented.  “Still thinking about Eligor?”

Looking ashamed, Rin nodded.   

“Figured.”  The archknight tipped back his ever present bucket hat and revealed distinctly inhuman eyes to Rin’s shock.  “My demon blood isn’t nearly as strong as yours, I can’t be held by a demon oath,” Lightning said.  “On the other hand, even if my demon heart was transplanted for safekeeping, I wouldn’t be able to survive what you have.  But I do understand a little; it isn’t often comfortable, being a demon in the Order of the True Cross.”

“Why are you here then?” Rin asked.

“A bit the same as you,” Lightning shrugged.  “My mom was… not nice.  I was born in Gehenna.  I only escaped because Mom went and grabbed this prodigy knight-hopeful from the True Cross Academy of London,” Lightning nodded in Angel’s direction, “The two of us managed to rescued ourselves.  Afterwards… I’d never been in Assiah before, didn’t know anyone or anything.  He was my anchor while I figured out what to do with myself.”  

Rin stared at Angel, eyes wide.  

Lightning chuckled.  “Yeah.  If you ask him Angel loathes all demons, but his closest friend for better than a decade is a part-blood.  Our Angel prides himself on obstinacy; he’ll never change his mind about demons… he just makes exceptions for individuals that he likes.  You’re an exception too.”

Rin looked down, hiding a small smile.

“From what I’ve seen demons and humans both have their fair share of close-minded bigots and zealots,” Lighting said.  “But the problem with immortals is when you get one of those at the top they last longer.  You see the problems with the True Cross and they’ve been swinging toward the moderates for fifteen years now.  What you see today?  This is fifteen years of moving away from a regime that had an ax to grind, and that regime only held sway for maybe twenty years.”  

“Once you start looking past this current Assiah time’s a little fluid,” Lightning continued.  “Don’t trust archaeologists, they’d have you believe that Egypt and Sumeria had their heyday at the same time, give or take a couple hundred years.  They’re wrong, Egypt, Sumeria and a number of other notable human empires were each the pinnacle of an entirely different Assiahs, but the pieces that were saved and added to this Assiah make them look to be contemporaries because of how they were preserved.  Anyway, Satan returned from the Void ten million years ago and started rebuilding his power base.  He and his have held sway over inner Gehenna for thousands of years now.”

Rin winced.  

“Not your fault he’s your dad,” Lightning reminded Rin.  “Humans are far from perfect, but they’re easier to change than demons.”  Then he laughed, “If things get too bad on Assiah someone, a god or demon, gets sick of it and wipes the whole place out.  When the new Assiah is created it’s a fresh start for all concerned.  Maybe Gehenna needs a little of it’s own medicine.  But I don’t know that any of us would survive that.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate coming up with names for my OC’s. So the Archknights’ names are drawn from history. Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter / exhibition shooter from the 1800s. Wang Zi, was a Chinese philosopher from the 1600s. The Durov family have been notable Animal Tamers in the Russian circus since 1912, several women in the family performed under the name Tereza.


	4. Oracle in Business

Renzo unplugged his cell phone from a modified car battery and scanned through his email.  He quickly zeroed in on one address and hit respond.

“Alice-san, Thanks for the instructions on rigging the car battery,” Renzo wrote.  “We all appreciate not having to get into town to keep our cellphones running.  Your Engineers without Borders group has been a life-saver.  Do you have any additional thoughts on using geothermal power to run the generators we bought?  The cost of diesel is becoming an issue and the generators the only source of power for our hospital.

“We’ve managed to place a number of the infants for adoption but over the next 8 months we are expecting a hundred and ten more births.  Making sure we’ve got electricity when we need it is really important.  I know you guys are just students but all the official channels are more interested in setting conditions than in helping us.

“I realize it sounds a little strange, but really, don’t worry about what sort of geothermal activity we have.  Tell us what we need and we’ll adapt.”  As he typed, Renzo thought, ‘As long as Neuhaus or I can explain what we need to Amaimon, he can move magma flows or create hot springs to order.’  “The geothermal heating system you designed for our main building is working great and we’ve got hot water.  I cannot express how grateful we are for the hot water (I’m taking daily baths again, if for no other reason than than certain people are expressing their gratitude… just joking).  

Thanks again for all your help, things would be pretty rough here without you guys.”

He hit send and scanned through his email again.  

Renzo grimaced as he opened a letter from one of the official aid organizations they’d approached.  Then he pocketed his phone and wandered out into the main room of the former Temple of Apollo, currently converted to a dormitory.  The space had been divided up using shoji screens.  A mixture of cots, futons and bed rolls were arranged in the rooms defined by the screens.  They’d tried to find bright colors, to make things cheerful, to create children’s room, but at the end of the day what they ended up with was a mishmash of whatever they could get and very few of the kids talked so it was hard to tell if they cared one way or another.  

Renzo found Michelle, several of the former La Llorona and some of the colony’s assorted additions in the nursery area feeding and cuddling the remaining infants.  They’d scrounged up several rocking chairs and Shiemi had talked a large tree in the compound into growing cradles like fruits.  As he walked in Renzo scooped up the first child he saw with open eyes and grinned, ruffling the thin hair between tiny horn buds on the infant’s head.

 “We’ve got another bunch of ‘Not Exorcists, really, truly’, coming,” he told Michelle, keeping his tone light.  

“You’re sure?” she asked.  

“Yep, they aren’t even trying to be convincing,” Renzo said.  “One of them is one of the same jerks who was supposed to proctor the Exorcist Exam last January.”

Michelle sighed.  “So, no help, just lookie-loos.”

“At best,” Renzo replied.

“Is the news all bad?” Michelle asked.  “Did you hear from any of your other contacts?”

Renzo grinned, “Not all bad.  I’m the king of getting other people to do things for me.  I gotta thank Bon for being such a hardass about doing my homework for me someday.  We’re doing okay, I think we’ll have a way of powering the generators before September’s done.  I should warn Shiemi too, do you know where she’s at today?”

Michelle sighed.  “She’s probably in the beans, trying to hurry them along and hoping her more adherent admirers didn’t notice her leaving the Sanctuary.”

Renzo nodded.  He gave the infant he’d picked up one last cuddle then headed out the back of the converted temple.  

One of Ukobach’s friends or relations was supervising a small group of hobgoblins as they set up long picnic tables on one side of the courtyard.  Nearby Mamushi and several former La Llorona were supervising a group of three and four year olds who were playing in the sun.  Mamushi glanced up when Renzo came outside.  For a moment their eyes met then Renzo very deliberately turned and walked away from her.

As he left the courtyard area Renzo spotted Maria superstitiously watching a young couple talk with another of the former La Llorona.  The La Llorona looked ready to go into labor at any moment.  Renzo walked over to Maria, “So, are they going to adopt her baby once it’s born?” he asked, nodding to the trio across the way.  

“I think so,” Maria replied, her eyes never leaving the group.  “Natalie likes them.  She was only 17 when she became a La Llorona and in her merger she’s younger still.  She doesn’t want to be a mother yet.”  Maria bit her lip then added.  “I should give up my baby too, once he’s born.  I was a terrible mother.”  

Renzo noted Maria’s emphasis on ‘should’.  “You know you’ve got help this time if you do decide to keep the kid?”  he reminded her.  “None of us are going anywhere.”

Maria smoothed a hand over her swollen belly, her eyes sad.  “We’ve also got several hundred children who have already been born to take care of.  And hardly anyone is willing to adopt the older children… Not that the children are willing to trust  anyone other than Lady Gaia and Lord Amaimon anyway.”

“Just don’t do anything you’re going to regret,” Renzo said.  Then he straightened and stepped away from the wall where Maria had been sitting.  “We’ve got more True Cross Exorcists sneaking in for a closer look with the next delegation from the Peace Corp,” he warned her.  “Spread the word.”

Renzo continued north.  He made his way between the bathhouse they’d constructed over the Kassotis Springs and the Amphitheater.  Just past the Amphitheater a thick, impenetrable rose  bramble rose in a wall 3 meters tall and a meter thick marking the perimeter of the ancient city.  Renzo reached out and pricked his finger on one of the thorns then waited for it to recognize him.  After a moment the brambles pulled back to create an arched passage to the outside.

A wary platoon of border guards watched as Renzo emerged from the bramble.  The True Cross and the Hellenic Army had formed an uneasy alliance in order to create an armed perimeter around the Delphi sanctuary.  They’d only tried to interfere with the comings and goings for the refugees once, the loss of a variety of military equipment due to sudden eruptions of plant growth had led to an impasse.  The perimeter stayed; on the other side of Gaia’s rose wall; the refugees came and went unmolested but not unobserved.   Renzo gave them an aggravating grin as an Exorcist and several armed soldiers fell in behind him.

Outside of the armed perimeter Renzo saw a group in leafy crowns and brightly colored tunics in the style of the ancient Greeks holding up signs reading “Gaia is the Goddess not a Demon!”.  One of the men had forgone the tunic and stood proudly in the altogether.  ‘We need more girls who want to go around skyclad,’ Renzo thought to himself.  

Several meters to the west of the group of Goddess devotees a more conservatively dressed group was protesting the modifications to the Delphi ruins.  As word of Gaia’s return to Assiah spread it had drawn an eclectic group to gather at Delphi.  Some came to help, some came out of fear, others came to worship Gaia and quite a few simply came to gawk.  

Those who had been reached through Nishiki’s connections had all been vouched for and the Myodha were carefully vetting anyone offering to adopt the children, but checking the references of the very random people who show up at the door and wanted to be a part of whatever they thought Gaia’s return represented was beyond the little group’s resources.  With hundreds of young and abused children in their care, the rescuers had decided that it was best to be cautious about what help they accepted.

On their way to the Sanctuary's fields Renzo and his escort passed through the growing tent city springing up around Dephi.  The campsites were as varied as people created them.  There was the military and exorcist’s orderly rows of drab, identical tents regularly broken by more substantial structures.  There were people camping in their cars or RVs, others came with nylon or canvas tents and other came with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.  A hundred different crests and symbols adorned the make-shift structures.       

After fifteen minutes of hiking Renzo reached the first of Shiemi’s fields and orchards.  Tended by Greenmen, guarded by Hobgoblins and urged into fruit by the power of Gaia flowing through Shiemi acres of crops, some never seen in the region before had sprung into being overnight.  There were several dozen people in a wild assortment of costumes standing just outside of the trellised bean fields loudly praising Gaia.   A group of hobgoblins scowled at the crowd and pushed anyone who actually tried to enter the gardens back.  Renzo could easily pick out the ones without mashos from the confused looks on their faces as invisible hands shoved them out of the garden.  

Then someone in the crowd took note of the pink-haired boy approaching them.  “Gaia’s knight!” Heads turned and in a few moments Renzo found himself surrounded.  He gave them a genial grin and kept moving forward, ignoring the hands grabbing at him.  “I need Gaia’s blessing!”  “Tell Gaia we love her.”  “We just want to talk to her” “Tell Gaia-” “Ask Gaia-” “Knight, ask Gaia-”

“Come on guys,” Renzo rebuffed them. “Gaia’s not in right now, you know that.  Now why don’t you stop pestering SHIEMI?”  Once he’d made to past the first row of trellis and the yellowing leaves hid him from the crowd he grimaced and dusted himself off as if to rid himself of the memory of the crowd’s grasping hands.

Renzo continued deeper into the field, peering down the rows, between the trellises until he spotted Shiemi.  “How’s it going?” he asked.

Shiemi heaved a huge sigh.  “I just can’t make them dry any faster,” she said.  “With Gaia’s power, I can grow a crop overnight, but whatever I do they dry in their own time.  We’re short on protein again.”

“I heard some of the girls talking about getting chickens,” Renzo mentioned.  “If they can pull it off then we’d have eggs.”

“Oh I hope so!”  Sheimi worried at her lower lip, “We have to be able to give the children a well-balanced diet.”

“We’re making progress on getting power without buying diesel,” Renzo told her cheerfully.  Then he snuck in, “And one of the jerks from the Exorcist Exam is trying to pass himself off as a Peace Corp guy.”

“You don’t think they know we were responsible for the escape from Rio?” Shiemi asked.

Renzo shook his head.  “I don’t  think there’s anyone left, except maybe Okumura Yukio and Shura, who knows what was going on at the Facility in Rio… And they won’t talk, they were in as deep as us.  I don’t think the Grigori knows anything.  That’s why they keep sending people to bug us, because they don’t know where all these part-demons came from.”

Together they walked deeper into the gardens.  Shiemi stopped every now and then to check on how a plant was doing or to pull a weed.  Renzo laughed to himself about how all the plants turned toward Shiemi as she passed as if she were sun.  “Make sure I stick to the weeds,” Renzo warned as he started to help.  Shiemi smiled and nodded.    

The shadows began to lengthen, in the distance they heard a bell chiming.  “2:30,” Renzo commented.  

“I’d better go,” Shiemi said.  “I think it’s better if there’s ceremony to mark my turning control over to Gaia.”  

“Let me walk you there,” Renzo replied.

At the edge of the gardens they found that the crowd of Gaia’s worshippers had grown to over fifty while they had been tending the crops.  Neuhaus was waiting for them.  “I saw this mob forming and thought you might need an escort,” he said.  The hobgoblins scowled at him fiercely.  “As escort that everyone can see,” he amended.   

Shiemi smiled gratefully.  

Renzo walked out in front of them and flicked his hands playfully at the crowd.  “Shoo, back to the Tholos,” he tsked.  “You know that’s where Gaia has her audiences.  You don’t want her thinking you’re thick right?  Everyday we go through this:  Not Gaia, Shiemi.  You won’t get Gaia until Shiemi’s ready so let her get ready okay?”   A significant fraction of the crowd dispersed, heading up the road to the circular temple that hid the entrance to Gaia’s cavern.  Neuhaus and Renzo walked on either side of Shiemi, along with several hobgoblins they kept the remain crowd at bay as they also made their way to the Tholos.  

While the two men waited in the upper room Shiemi walked back down the long, narrow flight of stairs to the cavern beneath where the Omphalos stood.  Michelle was waiting below, with water for bathing and a change of clothing.  Shiemi cleansed herself then changed into the red hakama and white haori of a Miko Priestess.  It wasn’t Gaia’s culture but it was Shiemi’s, a way of readying herself to be possessed.  Once she was done she knelt in front of the Omphalos and waited.  

The bell’s chimes rang across the city as the hour fell.  Shiemi’s eyes closed.  When the bells stopped Gaia rose, her eyes glowing.  She walked back up the stairs.  Amaimon and Maria had joined those upstairs.  “The supplicants await you,” Maria said, her head bowed.  Amaimon and Renzo fell in step slightly behind Gaia.  As they walked through the door Renzo called on Yamantaka to cloak him in flames and Amaimon unsealed his heart, assuming his full demonic form.  They should have overshadowed Gaia, who’s only physical sign that she had possessed Shiemi was the girl’s glowing green eyes, but in truth it was Renzo and Amaimon who were all but forgotten by the crowd as they stepped out of the Tholos.  

“Supplicants, I am here,”  Gaia announced.  As one the crowd dropped to their knees, even the skeptics among them overcome by Gaia’s presence.  

Shima Juuzo stepped forward from the crowd, at his gesture two couples stood up along with him.  “Lady Gaia, these families are of good reputation and would promise to care for your rescued children as their own,” he declared.  

Gaia walked down the steps of the Tholos so that she could peer into the faces of the couples.  After several long moments that left the couples sweating, Gaia stepped back.  “I am satisfied,” she said.  “They may meet the children.  Renzo kept his face impassive, he knew it was all just for show.  Gaia could examine a person’s memories as she had done when she and Shiemi judged the Facility personnel in Rio but it was a harsh process that left the victim’s mind badly disordered; hardly something they wanted to do to the prospective parents.  For a moment, Juuzo’s gaze shifted to his younger brother, Renzo refused to allow him eye contact.  Instead he stared out into the crowd.  

As he pointedly did not look at Juuzo, Renzo’s eyes picked out a young man with tufts of white hair on the sides of his head and small, wing-like growths in the place of his ears.  ‘Saburota?’ Renzo thought in alarm.  The man was clearly much younger than Saburota Todo, but at the same time unmistakably he.  /He reeks of Karura’s stolen power,/ Yamantaka whispered in Renzo’s mind.

/Of all the people I didn’t want to see,/ Renzo sent back with a sigh.  

When Gaia finished with Juuzo’s group an older man stepped forward from the crowd.  “Goddess, my valley is facing our sixth year of drought.  Our farmers won’t survive another bad harvest, our aquifers are going dry.”  

“I have no control over the rain,” Gaia admitted frankly.  She laid a hand on the crown of the man’s head.  “But take a portion of my power home with you, let it spread through the land, your crops will require less water to flourish.”

“Thank you, Goddess,” the man said.  

The next to come forward was a man in his early twenties.  “Goddess, my parents want me to join the family business should I?”

“You know the answer in your heart,” Gaia dismissed him.

The next three simply asked Gaia’s blessing.  After that a small group came forward, a woman in a long flowing skirt and a loose shirt, with a small knife on her belt spoke on their behalf.  “Goddess, the Coven of the Three Leaves asks your permission to join your Colony.”

Renzo shifted back slightly, indicating that they hadn’t come through Nishiki’s network of contacts.  ‘Too bad,’ he thought.  ‘They don’t look as flakey as most.’

“Ask again once your dedication has been demonstrated,” Gaia told the group.  They looked disappointed but their leader nodded her acceptance of Gaia’s decision.  

Renzo’s gaze drifted back to where Saburota was pretending to be just another part of the crowd.

The next group to come forward looked completely out of place in business suits and ties.  “Ms. Gaia,” their spokesman began as he took a legal document out of his briefcase and presented it to Gaia.  “We represent the Town Council of Delphi.  We have passed a measure requiring you to cease and desist all activities resulting in the unnatural plant growth within the municipality of Delphi.”

Gaia gave the man a disdainful look.  “The Earth rejoices at my return, I have no interest in curbing that joy.  What is unnatural are the bands of restraint you surround your cities with.”

Renzo stepped closer to Gaia and put a hand on her shoulder.  “We’ve noticed that there’s less leakage of Gaia’s power when we’ve direct it someplace useful.  Maybe there’s someplace you’d like a new park, garden or vineyard?” he suggested.

“The whole country’s going to be a garden soon,” one councilmember mutter as they left.

Before the next person could step forward for their audience there was a stir from the back of the crowd.  Gradually more and more people turned to stare.  After a moment Renzo saw the source of the commotion: A tall woman with deep bluish-green skin and stark white hair strode up the road, a massive ball of water was slung over her shoulder as if it were contained in something.  The crowd parted to let her through.  

Once she stood before Gaia, the strange woman bowed respectfully.  “Lady Gaia, I am Obizu, a Duchess of the Kingdom of Water.  My Lord Egyn bids me extend his apologies to both you and the priestess Shiemi for his uncouth behavior when you previously encountered him.  He offers this token and his sincere regrets.”  Obizu swung the ball of water to the ground in front of her, the water inside the sphere teamed with fish.  Then in a much less formal tone she added,  “We thought your kids might appreciate it.  Humans these days say sea food's good for developing brains.  And don’t think too unkindly of Egyn.  Just between us girls, he’s like an overgrown puppydog sometimes.”

“Although it appears that he is capable of learning,” Gaia remarked.  “The gift is appreciated.  If he can remember his manners he has my leave to approach me.”

Amaimon grimaced at that,  /But, Mom-/ he protested silently and was hushed with a glance.

After Obizu, Gaia ended the audience and spent the rest of her allotted time visiting the children.  

When the clock struck six, Gaia collapsed.  Renzo went to pick her up but Amaimon got in his way.  “You’ve been monopolizing her all day while I was busy keeping the older brats in line,” he complained then carried Shiemi back to her room himself.  A few minutes later Amaimon emerged looking sulky.  After a bit longer of a wait Shiemi came out in her pink kimono.  “I’m back.”

Renzo smiled at Shiemi but after a moment he glanced away.  “We should get to dinner,” he said.    

When they went to sit down Amaimon pointed shoved between Renzo and Shiemi.  Renzo rolled his eyes and moved several places down so that he was sitting between two of the older children.  The rest of the adults also dispersed around the long table where they did their best to encourage the most basic of table manners and discourage the hoarding of food.   

After dinner they broke up into smaller groups, some of the children being herded into the bathhouse while the rest listened to bedtime stories.  

As the evening progressed Shiemi noticed that Renzo was unusually quiet.  He loitered in her vicinity despite Amaimon’s attempts to discourage him.  Once the last of the kids had been tucked into bed Renzo asked, “Could we talk?” Without waiting for a response he turned and walked outside.

Amaimon pouted when Shiemi got up to follow him.  She squeezed the Earth King’s shoulder as she passed, “Everyone was very well behaved at dinner tonight.  You’ve been doing great with them.”  

Amaimon ducked his head a bit at her praise.

“I should find out why Renzo’s upset,” Shiemi continued.  

Amaimon wrinkled up his nose at that but he said, “I’ll go see if Neuhaus wants me to screw with the magma around here some more.”

“Thanks for understanding,” Shiemi said.    

She followed Renzo up to the highest row of seats in the amphitheatre.  Renzo sat down and stared out into the distance without saying anything.     

“Renzo-kun,” Shiemi asked, sitting down next to him.  “Is something wrong?”

“You remember when you told me that you wanted to hear what I think?” Renzo asked.  “Really, no one ever wanted that from me before.  No one ever noticed the mask I put up, or at the least they didn’t bother to try to get past it.  I want you to know I really appreciate that you did.”  He smiled awkwardly.  “And, even more amazing: after getting to know me, the real me, you still don’t hate me.”  

Shiemi threaded her arm through Renzo’s and leaned against his shoulder.

“I saw someone in with the supplicants today,” he continued quietly.  “Someone I was hoping wouldn’t show up quite so soon.  You’re going to find out some stuff about me that I didn’t want you to know and  I don’t expect you to like.”

“Renzo-kun, I’m sure it’s not-” Shiemi began to protest but Renzo cut her off.  

“I hated everything then,” he said.  “You know how I feel about my family and the Myodha, but they were my whole world, everything I knew and I hated them.  I hated Bon and Koneko for just going along with the program like good little drones; they’re both smart, you’d think they’d know when they were being fed a load of crap but Bon pins it all on his dad and idolizes the rest of the Myodha and Koneko… Koneko, I don’t why he can’t see it.”

Renzo trailed off, Shiemi waited patiently for him to go on.

“I told you about how Nishiki and I were going to screw with our families by me refusing to swear to Bon and letting her, a Hojo, take my place.  Well, it would have ticked off my family to no end, I can tell you that.  If I’d gone through with it I wouldn’t have had to disown myself, but we swear fealty when we’re twenty.  That still feels like an eternity even now when I’m seventeen, imagine what it felt like when I was fifteen.”  Renzo said.  “You remember Saburota Todo?  The so-call guardian of the Deep-Keep?  He came and talked to me right before I signed up for the Academy, about a different way of getting at my family and at everything else I hated.  And I listened to him.  But after I got to school, got to know you and Izumo and Rin, I started to realize that I didn’t really hate everything.  I didn’t even hate Bon or Koneko.”  He sighed and shook his head, “Maybe they weren’t so blind.  Hell, maybe Bon can fix the Myodha.  I wouldn’t count on it but I wish him luck trying.”

Renzo stopped again and sat silently beside Shiemi.  They watched the sun set over the gulf.  

“I thought I hated everything,” he resumed as the lengthening shadows swallowed them. “Hate is the furthest thing from how I feel about you.  But it’s not so simple as just changing my mind.  Because I don’t hate you, I’m trying to get out of what I got myself involved with.  But you’re going to find out about everything before it’s done.”  Renzo slipped his arm out of Shiemi’s grasp and stepped away.  “I just wanted to warn you first.”

  
As he walked away his voice drifted back to Shiemi.  “I’m sorry I’m not a better person.”


	5. Dragon's Impasse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In writing fanfic for AnE I’ve ended up stumbling across verses of from the Bible and interpretations of those verses that make me think the earliest books of the Bible have some pretty strange stuff in them. 
> 
> Genesis 6:4 (NIV) for example: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.” So um, angels -debatably angels- or fallen angels at least and humans having children together, in the Bible not AnE... okay. And well, “heroes of old, men of renown” doesn’t sound terribly bad to me, but what do I know? The two online essays I read interpreting this verse went on to explain that those hybrid children justify The Flood, because those children were evil/corrupt by birth thus everyone on earth excluding Noah and his family needed to die because they weren’t pure humans, but were polluted by the blood of those fallen angels who took human wives. One of those essays goes on use Nephilim to explain away Deuteronomy 7:2-3 (NIV) “and when the Lord, your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons.” According to this essay the Philistines were descended from Noah’s son Ham whose wife probably had Nephilim blood and so destroying an entire people was justified. 
> 
> If you’re still along for the ride after my earlier stories in this fandom you’ve probably figured out that I am thoroughly a believer in nurture over nature: If you’re sufficiently sentient to understand the difference between good and evil, you’re capable of choosing to be good. I don’t believe people are born evil and when writing in a fantasy world like AnE ‘people’ translates to anyone capable of rational thought. If the fallen angels had sufficient free will to chose to be evil (aka have sex with humans), I can’t understand how their children would lack the free will to chose to be good (err, um, chose to behave in such a way as to not deserve death).

Rin used his flames to pass a pebble from hand to hand.  As his confidence increased he switched to three fist-sized stones and tried juggling them.  For several minutes everything seemed to be going well, then the stones caught fire.  “K’so!” Rin exclaimed tossing the stones away from him.  His agitation only increased the intensity of the flames and the stones burned to nothing before they hit the ground.

“You still look at your flames as something alien, something evil,” Ucchusma lectured.  “Until you accept them as a part of yourself any lapse in concentration will result in disaster.  As long as you see your flames as a malevolent force to be leashed, that is what they will be.”

“I’m trying,” Rin sighed.  “But what isn’t that what they are?”

Ucchusma tilted his head to the side and peered at Rin curiously.  “You make of your flames more than they are; attribute sentience and willfulness to them where they are only an extension of yourself.  At the same time you simplify people; good or evil, demon or angel.  You insist on believing that your father is nothing more, or less, than evil incarnate and that anything even vaguely tied to him must be the same.  And yet, the holy book you profess to believe tells you he was once an angel.  You inherited Satan’s genetics, not his choices or experiences.”

“The devil is my father, it’s pretty hard not to worry about what that makes me,” Rin said.  He went back to working with his flames for several minutes, scowling in fierce concentration to avoid more conversation.

“Enough for today,” Ucchusma decided.   

Rin let his flames vanish, he started back down the mountain then stopped.  “Ucchusma, um, how do I rank in the Flame Kingdom?”

“You are a Prince of Hell,” Ucchusma stated.  “By right of birth, you rank just below the Eight Kings.  However given that you are hardly more than an infant and have little practice in using your flames, your power is closer to a viscount’s.”

“Oh,” Rin said.  After a moment he asked.  “Is that good or bad?”

"The longer a demon lives the more power they accumulate.  The youngest demon viscount is two hundred and fifty years old,” Ucchusma replied.  “ That is very good.”  

 

* * *

 

Several days later Izumo let herself into the kitchen at the Ryokan.  She leaned against the free-standing counter in the center of the room and watched Rin work.  “Need anything chopped?” she asked after a bit.  “I’m almost competent at that now.”

“Well, if you’re only almost competent, I should help you,” Rin suggested, he tried to keep a serious expression on his face but couldn’t help grinning.  

Izumo looked thoughtful.  “I suppose a little more instruction wouldn’t hurt.”

Rin put the cutting board and a plate of chicken in front of her.  Then, stepping around behind her, he put the knife in her hands and wrapped his arms around her to guide her movements.  “It is very important that everything is exactly even,” he told her. “You need to be completely certain before I let you do this for yourself.”

Izumo snuggled back into his chest.  She considered making more of an effort to be distracting but decided against it.  Even after the Kyoto Exorcists had recovered from their injuries and Suguro Torako had reopened the Ryoken to paying customers she’d let Rin continue running the kitchen.  Doing a good job of it was something Rin took pride in.

After they finished chopping up the chicken, Rin produced a bag of skewers.  “I thought you were making curry tonight,” Izumo commented.

“Bon doesn’t like curry,” Rin said as if that explained everything that needed saying.  

Izumo scowled.

“Did you want curry?” Rin worried.

“I don’t care, you’re doing all the work.”  Izumo gave him a small smile.  “Everything you make tastes great anyway.  But what does it matter whether or not Suguro likes something?  He’s not the only one eating and he’s certainly not doing anything to help.”

“Bon’s helping lots,” Rin protested, he leaned over Izumo’s shoulder and grinned sneakily, “He’s staying out of the kitchen.”

Izumo smirked at that.  “What’d he do this time?”

“All he did was open one of the cupboards,” Rin sighed as he stepped away from Izumo.  “Half a dozen plates and glasses fell out and broke.  His mom made him promise that he wouldn’t try to help in here anymore.  She said he could take my turn cleaning the bathrooms instead.”

“That sounds fair,” Izumo snickered.

Rin frowned, “I really think Bon might be cursed.  We’re Exorcists, we could check for something like that right?”

Izumo shrugged, “I’ve never heard of a curse that makes you a walking disaster when you get within ten feet of stove.  Maybe he’s just naturally clumsy.”

“It could be a curse,” Rin insisted.  

“You and Suguro have a mission in the morning don’t you?” Izumo asked changing the subject.   

“With Archknight Wang,” Rin confirmed.  “Bon’s been staying up all night memorizing the new verses he sent.  I guess I’m mostly supposed to act like some big-shot in the Flame Kingdom and order the dragon around.”  He chewed at his lower lip.  “I don’t know what plan B is if it won’t listen to me.”

“Maybe they want you to focus on making it listen,” Izumo suggested.  “It would be a lot better if you didn’t have to fight.”

“I guess,” Rin said.  “I’ll just have to try.”

* * *

The next morning Rin and Bon gated to the True Cross Academy and met up with the rest of Wang Zi’s team; two dragoons, three knights and six Arias in addition to Wang himself; shortly before dawn.  Bon noted that the lowest ranked Exorcists among the twelve was a upper second class Aria who’s pin indicated that he was also ranked as a Doctor.     

“No Tamers?” Rin asked.

“Tamers capable of summoning a familiar that wouldn’t run at the sight of a dragon are rare,” Wang replied as the team found their seats in a pair of the Order’s van.  

As the vans wound their way through Tokyo and up the slope of Mount Kumotori most of the Exorcists leaned back in their seats and napped until they reached the bus stop below the Sanjo no Yu mountain hut and it’s hot spring.  “Heated by the dragon’s breath,” Wang told them as they made their way around to the back of the building, then ventured into the surrounding forest.

After thirty minutes of hiking they came to the mouth of a cave.  The Exorcists paused for a few minutes to retrieve spelunkers’ hardhats from their gear.  Once inside the cave they were forced to walk in single file as they wound their way down into the mountain’s heart.  As they progressed deeper and deeper into the mountain the left side of the path opened up into a gaping chasm, a golden glow emanated from the depths.

Wang held up his hand for the team to stop once they’d descended five hundred meters into the mountain's heart.  He gestured for Rin and Bon to follow him down a side tunnel.  “We’re still thirty meters above the nest,” he told them, “but you should see what we’re up against.  Talking to the dragon won’t have a chance of success if you’re in awe of her.”  

The golden glow grew stronger until they were leaning over the edge of a precipice, peering down into the cavern below.  Rin’s eyes popped at his first sight of the dragon.  It was larger than a bus with thick, powerful legs terminating in four claws, each one as long as Rin was tall.  It’s body was thick with muscle and covered in heavy, burnished bronze scales which overlapped each other like platemail.  It’s long neck supported a massive skull; broad with a blunt muzzle and a wide fang-filled maw large enough to swallow a horse in a single gulp.  A dozen horns flared around the back of it’s head like a mane, shielding the back of its neck from attack.  A long sinuous tail curled around it’s body.  Leathery wings sprouted from it’s shoulder blades but Rin couldn’t imagine them lifting such a creature into the air.

“Only the young ones fly,” Wang supplied, reading Rin’s thoughts from his face.  “In their first millennium they are active.  They search each other out to mate or to battle, they ravage the land hunting for food and treasure.  And then the females migrate.  After finding a suitable location they will hibernate for centuries, soaking in the energy of the mountain where they sleep, growing ever more massive, until they wake and lay their eggs.”  He gestured to a shallow depression between the dragon’s front paws.  The depression was filled with molten gold, a dozen watermelon-sized eggs floated in the glowing liquid.  A pile of discarded gems lay near by.  “Most likely this one has been sleeping under this mountain for the last five hundred years.  She isn’t the problem, her life-cycle is almost done.  Once the eggs hatch she will return to her sleep, her body slowly petrifying until she is a part of the mountain.  The problem is the eggs.”    

“You said our mission is to relocate the dragon and her nest?” Bon asked.  “Won’t the same thing happen where ever we put them?”

Wang shook his head.  “The Order has prepared a reserve for the young dragons.”  Then the Archknight grimaced, “In the last two years almost all of the Order’s Peg Lanterns in Japan were killed.”  

Rin and Bon nodded remembering the Exwire Exam they’d helped proctor.

“Currently we’re having to import our holy ashes from Hawaii,” Wang continued.  “Pele’s ashes are more powerful than a Peg Lantern’s, but even when we cut them with normal ashes the supply is still being stretched thin.  If the young dragons could be tamed they could become a new source of holy ashes.”

As they spoke the glowing molten gold began to dim and the dragon bent it’s head to breath a puff of fire over her nest, restoring the temperature.   

“So I have to talk her into going to this reserve without putting up a fight,” Rin said.

“You have to order her to allow us to move her,” Wang corrected.  “The dragon won’t obey you because of reason, only because the strength of your flames makes you dominant.”

Rin grimaced but nodded.  They backed away from the edge and completed their descent.  Wang’s team pulled on camouflage cloaks and spread out around the perimeter of the large cavern containing the dragon and her nest.  

“Ready?” Wang asked Rin.  

Rin nodded and the Aria-adept turned to Bon.  “Let us begin,” he said.  He tapped one heel, setting a cadance.  When he began chanting Bon quickly fell into rhythm with him, weaving an impenetrable barrier between them.  

Rin stepped out in front of the two Arias as they approached the dragon.  “Um, hey,” he called.  

The dragon swung it’s great head around and negligently spat a ball of fire at them.  It broke on the Arias’ shield.  

In response Rin cloaked himself in his own flames, he frowned at the dragon.  “You!  Listen to me!  You can’t have your nest here, you have to move!”

Rin’s flames captured the dragon’s full attention, “Lord Satan’s treasonous child,” the Dragon rumbled.

Rin bared his fangs at that, his flames intensifying in response to his anger, “Father Fujimoto Shiro is my dad, not the monster that murdered him,” he snapped.  Then he took a deep breath, “Look, we don’t want to fight you, but you can’t have your kids here.  They’ll cause too much trouble.  The True Cross has a place set up where they’ll be safe and won’t do any harm to anyone else.”

The dragon breathed another burst of flames over her eggs.  “My children will be strong and fierce.  The humans will quail before them and Iblis will be pleased.  They will lay waste to this land.  Even from my cave, I see the huge castles the humans of this age have constructed, but they will find no shelter.  My children’s flames will melt their towers of glass and steel, reduced them to blacken husks and teach them humility once again.  It will be glorious, why would I do anything to prevent the coming carnage?”

“Because I said so!” Rin growled as he drew Kurikara.  

“I care not what a stripling cowering behind an Exorcist’s shield says, even if you do harbor the blue flames of Lord Satan,” the dragon dismissed Rin.

Wang put a hand on Rin’s shoulder, a pre-arranged signal to pull back.  The older exorcist shrugged, ‘It was worth trying,’ his eyes said. ‘But it’s not the only way.’

Stubbornly Rin shrugged off Wang’s hand and stepped forward raising his sword.  “Maybe you don’t care about what happens to Tokyo, but I do.  If your kids hatch here and try to hurt my city, I’ll stop ‘em, whatever it takes.  Even if you don’t care about what happens to Assiah, you care about your kids right?”

The burst of fire the dragon sent in return was a dozen times stronger than her earlier blast.  Even thru the Arias’ shield the air shimmered with heat haze.  Bon raised a hand in an instinctive need to protect himself.  Sweat broke out on Wang’s forehead but otherwise he refused to acknowledge the intense flames completely engulfing their shield.  

Rin sensed the dragon’s tail moving through the flames.  He  drew his wakizashi and wrapped his flames around the blade, hardening them as he did for Ucchusma’s pebble exercises.  Then he leapt into the flames.  When the dragon-fire cleared Rin stood in front of Bon and Wang with swords crossed, blocking the dragon’s tail.  He pressed forward, Kurikara slid along the blade of the wakizashi like a lop-sided pair of scissors and sliced off the last few feet of the dragon’s tail.  The dragon roared in pain and outrage as it spewed white hot flames across the cave.

“Okumura, fall back,” Wang ordered.  

Rin ignored him and charged.  The dragon tried to crush Rin under one of her massive front feet.  Rin dodged the blow by inches then leapt on top of the clawed foot.  

“Suguro, call him back,” Wang ordered.

Bon shook his head, his eyes were wild and he clenched his fists tightly.  He was torn between not violating Rin’s will and the fear that the Archknight knew better; that forcing Rin to follow orders was in Rin’s best interest.

Rin sheathed the wakizashi and used his free hand to pull himself up to the dragon’s elbow.  He wished he could sheath Kurikara as well without sealing his heart to have both hands free for climbing.

“Arthur’s going to kill me,” Wang muttered.  Then he shouted.  “Dragoons target the eyes.  Knights, harassment, don’t let it focus on Okumura.  Arias One, protect your knights.  Arias Two, containment!”

The dragon stomped it’s foot trying to shake Rin off.  He formed his flames into climbing claws around his free hand and feet and continued scrambling up the dragon’s foreleg.  The dragon swung her head around and snapped at Rin only to pull back as the two dragoons on the team peppered her face with holy water shot.

“Rin’s flames are burning through my shields faster than the dragon-fire,” Bon exclaimed.  “I can’t protect him.”

Wang dropped his chant for a moment, “Help me muzzle her,” he said.  Bon nodded and switched to a chant for a physical barrier rather than one to protect against flames.  He and Wang wrapped their barriers around the dragon’s mouth, forcing it shut.  

The other two knights hacked at the dragon’s legs and lashing tail.  They did little damage but prevented the dragon from using her tail against Rin.

Rin clawed his way up onto the dragon’s back.  She reared back on her hind legs, beating the air with her wings.  Rin flattened himself against her scales and dug his claws in to keep from being ripped off by the winds.

The second Aria team succeeding in pulling the dragon back down on all four legs.  She shook her head angrily, small gouts of fire escaped through the corners of her mouth giving evidence to Bon and Wang’s effectiveness.  As her head swung around, Rin took a chance and leapt from her back to her snout.  He used his flames to push himself further than he could naturally jump in an imitation of Angel’s trick with Eligor.  The dragon threw her head back viscously.  Rin dug his claws in, his tail countering the movements of her head to help maintain his precarious perch as he leveled Kurikara at the dragon’s eye.  “I’m giving you one last chance,” Rin snarled.  “I don’t want to take your eggs’ parent away from them but you won’t be allowed to raise them to attack Assiah.  For their sake, let us relocate you!”     

Straining against the Exorcists’ restraints the dragon shifted her weight so that she was over her nest.  “I’ll crush them myself before I let them be turned into traitors by the True Cross,” she snarled through her forcibly shut teeth.  

“There’s gotta be something we can all live with,” Rin argued.  He glanced over his shoulder toward Wang.  “Don’t you know the verse for Dragons?   Can’t we just send them back to Gehenna or something?”

Wang glanced at Bon.  The younger Aria nodded, he could hold their muzzle on his own for a time.  

“There is no fatal verse for dragons,” Wang said.  “They’re a half-breed species.  Eons ago, the original dragons possessed Assiah lizards, but once they were here they bred.  All modern dragons are born of Gehenna but born in Assiah.  They have one foot in each world; fatal verses won’t work on them anymore than it would on you.”  He hesitated for a moment, knowing the next thing he would say would only make Rin’s choices harder.  “No one knows what happens to a dragon when they are killed.”

The dragons’ eye; nearly as tall as Rin himself; narrowed as she evaluated at him.  “Open a portal,” she offered after a time.  “There are none more adept than the King of Time in the creation portals.  Open a portal into Gehenna then I will take my eggs and leave Assiah.  I don’t know what they will be if they hatch in Gehenna, but I will take that uncertainty over allowing them to be used against their own by the True Cross.  Now release my jaw before my eggs freeze.”

“Swear that you will surrender to my team and I will contact Sir Pheles,” Wang demanded.

“I will surrender to the Wielder of the Blue Flame, none other,” the Dragon bartered.  “Him I can trust to ensure that your end of the bargain is kept.”  

“I can’t speak for Mephisto,” Rin said.  

“No, but you can give me your word that you will see that the King of Time opens the portal for me,” the dragon replied.  “He will either comply... or you will suffer for his refusal.”

“Okay,” Rin agreed.

* * *

 

Under the dragon’s watchful eye a team of Exorcists in hazmat gear carefully transferred the eggs and molten gold into a heavy steel mining cart.  Once they were done Mephisto pointed his umbrella at the far wall of the cave and used it to circumscribe a large circle.  Swirling blackness followed the point of Mephisto’s umbrella, the black mist gradually drew back to reveal a passageway to a red-lit hell.  A thick river of malevolently glowing magma slowly wound down the center of a narrow, desolate valley.  The floor of the valley was littered with sharp-edged chunks of obsidian, and the steep walls were jagged basalt.  The dragon sighed happily at the sight of it, “Beautiful,” she declared.

The Exorcists pushed the cart through the portal then the dragon squeezed through.  She had to flatten her wings against her back and suck in her belly to fit through.  For a moment, as the dragon’s bulk forced the portal to open a bit wider, a look of strain crossed Mephisto’s face.  

“A lovely corner of Muspelheim.  I thought of it the moment I heard you were looking for a new home.  It’s a realm which exists between Gehenna and Assiah, much like yourself,” he said sounding like a realtor about to close a sale.  “All of the native gods have long since retired to the walls.  I sincerely doubt anyone will bother you or your children here.  I doubt any but I could find their way to this place… or out of it,” he finished with a grin.  

The dragon meandered around the valley for several minutes while the Exorcists watched the portal nervously for any signs of shrinkage.  Eventually the dragon found a recessed cranny, sufficiently sheltered for her purposes.  She dug a shallow depression in the rocky floor then used the rough scales on the side of her paw to polish it smooth.  The Exorcists dragged over a chest of Spanish doubloons and emptied it into the pit.  A few blasts of flame and the coins were a glowing soup.  Then, the Exorcists carefully ladled the eggs out of the mining cart and into their new nest.  

As soon as they were finished the Exorcists hurried back through Mephisto’s portal.  

“I should collect a debt from you for this favor,” Mephisto told Rin as he allowed the portal to collapse.  “But you’ll suffer for your good deed without any assistance from me, little brother.”

“But I did what they wanted,” Rin protested.  “Yeah, the Order would have liked it if the baby dragons ended up making holy ashes for them but the important thing is that they won’t be able to hurt Assiah from here.  We got that done didn’t we?”

“The hatchlings will have what they need without causing harm to anyone in Assiah,” Mephisto confirmed.  Then he grinned slyly.  “There should have been no way of completing this mission without slaying the mother dragon.  At best Archknight Wang might have saved the eggs, the Order might have had the ability to successfully incubate them and when the young dragons hatched they might have been malleable enough to turn to Assiah’s cause…  Of course no one said as much.  It sounds rather ugly when your mission is to kill a mother so that her children can be raised to oppose her kin.”  Mephisto shrugged carelessly.  “Even when you say it is for the good of mankind it still sounds ugly; nothing the righteous should lower themselves to.”  

“That wasn’t our mission!” Rin protested.  “Nobody said anything like that.”

“As I said, no one would,” Mephisto replied.  “Quite truthfully, I’m rather fond of the current crop of Archknights and our Paladin; they’re an arrogant bunch, secure in their own power and unafraid of what they might face.”

Rin looked confused.

Mephisto laughed.  “They aren’t afraid.  Even the ones who have had bad experiences with Gehenna weren’t too badly scarred.  They are motivated by genuine love for Assiah, not fear or vengeance.  Oh, I aggravate both Angel and Wang; I’m afraid it’s completely irreconcilable, they love rules almost as much as I love breaking them; but even those two I quite like.  Tereza, Lightning and Oakley-san aren’t such sticks-in-the-mud, I assure you.  All five of them will adore you; you and Suguro-kun are so cute, so sincere, determined and idealistic, they won’t be able to resist.” Rin wrinkled his nose at being called cute.  Mephisto smiled evilly and made as if to pinch Rin’s cheek.  Rin bared his teeth as he ducked away from Mephisto’s hand.  Mephisto settled for patting the irritated boy on the head.

“Archknight Wang knew the mission had to be done, that the hatchlings couldn’t be allowed to run riot so near Tokyo, but most likely he never allowed himself think about how this mission would have to end,” Mephisto continued.  “Still the moment he saw a chance to change the outcome he subconsciously knew was coming, he jumped on it.” He spread his arms wide, embracing the world.  “Humans have a curious tendency of wanting to be better than they are.  Sometimes they even succeed at it.  It’s one of the things that makes them so endlessly fascinating.”

Rin smiled a bit, it was reassuring to hear Mephisto praise humanity.

“But even though the Grigori could not bring themselves to say what they actually wanted, they will be unhappy at not getting it.”  Mephisto threw back his head and laughed uproariously.  “You, my dear little brother, will aggravate those who require a world of rules in an entirely different way than I do.  They do not like me, but they expect me; even in my shattering of their rules I conform to their expectations.  You they will not expect and the best of them won’t be able to help liking you.  You are already making a mess of the Paladin's prejudices.”  He leaned down to whisper in Rin’s ear.  “For the experiences they share Angel cannot hold Lightning’s birth against him.  But Lightning doesn’t challenge his beliefs because, while he is unquestionably Angel’s, he is also every bit as ruthless as I am.  You, on the other hand, are kind.  Kindness is rare quality, particularly in a demon.”  

Rin flushed.

**  
**“Demons-born are taught to be distrustful of humans, to retaliate preemptively.  Most are old enough to hold grudges for crimes humanity has forgotten committing and those who are not so old have been weaned on those same tales.  Part-bloods who awaken fully as demons… Well, you know first hand how agonizing the process of awakening is.  I could wish that you held another more responsible for what happened to you, but I must admit, there are advantages that you do not.  Because you only hold yourself to blame, you awakened fully as a literal demon without sacrificing your figurative humanity in the process.”  Mephisto grinned, “I look forward to witnessing the metaphysical crises you will cause as you progress through the Order.  But always remember: a person can cast aside their humanity at any time, one doesn’t need to grow fangs or a tail in the process.”


	6. A New Normal

Rin stuff the last of his clothes into his duffle bag in preparation for the new school term and moving back into the Old Dorm.  He supposed, given the gate Mephisto had set up, he and Bon could have continued living in Bon’s old room in Kyoto but somehow it seemed more fitting that they go back to school.  They’d also decided to take the train back and do a little sightseeing along the way even though the Academy was just on the other side of Bon’s closet door.  

Bon watched Rin cram his uniform jacket on top of the other crap in the duffle bag and rolled his eyes at the mess Rin called packing.  Bon neatly and precisely folded his school uniform and placed it in his bag.  Rin grinned, shame-faced, pulled out his clothes and did his best to fold them.  

“Ready?” Konekomaru asked poking his head in the door.  “The taxi’s supposed to be here in a few minutes.”

“Almost!” Rin exclaimed hurriedly finishing his repacking.  

Bon scanned his bookshelves one last time then added another volume to his bag, “I’ve been meaning to memorize the Atharva-Veda,” he said.  Then he turned to Rin,  “My mom said you should be sure to talk to her before we left.” He added casually, “She’s in her office.”

Rin headed downstairs and knocked on the door to Torako’s office.  While he waited for her to open the door Rin shifted nervously from one foot to the other.  An endless minute dragged by then Torako opened the door and waved Rin inside.  She gestured to the headset she wore, putting a finger to her lips.  “Itamae-san?”  she asked. “Suguro Torako, I own a Ryokan in the Kyoto area.  I just wanted to call and commend you for training a marvelous apprentice.”

A brilliant, disbelieving smile split Rin’s face.

“It was quite unexpected.  My normal chef suddenly became unavailable and Okumura-kun stepped in and filled the gap.  Given his age I am astounded at his professionalism and grasp of the intricacies required to manage a large kitchen.  For the last month he has been providing three meals a day for an average of thirty  people.  If he ever needs any references once he completes his apprenticeship please keep me in mind.”

Torako and Itamae continued talking for several minutes more while Rin beamed.  Once she’d said goodbye Torako laughed gently at Rin’s blissful expression.  “I don’t know what I’d have done without you this last month,” she said.  “If I didn’t know that my son would throw a tantrum I’d be tempted to fire that malingering ass of a chef of mine and hire you on full time.”

Rin blushed and started the floor as his tail wriggled happily.  Torako resisted the urge to pinch his cheek and squeal “Kawii!” for fear that Rin would simply combust from embarrassment as obviously unaccustomed to praise as he was.  Instead Torako went to her desk and took out a check.  “Since you’ve done my chef’s work for the last month I think it’s only fitting that you get his paycheck,” she said tartly.

Rin glanced at the check, his jaw dropped as the amount registered.  “Really?  That’s way more than Mephisto gives me for allowance for a whole term.”

"You earned it,” Torako replied.  She smiled, “Good luck with your fall term… And I’d like you to give some thought to a little notion of mine.  You’re already a talented chef, I look forward to seeing how you develop.  When you and Ryuji are posted here permanently, think about whether or not you’ve like to take over managing the Ryokan’s kitchens, possibly expanding it into a full restaurant.”

Rin looked a little giddy at the thought but- “Cooking’s just something I’m good at,” he said.  “I’m Bon’s knight and we’re going to kick Satan’s ass,” he said.

“You wouldn’t be the only one with two jobs.  As Head Priest of the Myodha Ryuji is going to have a number of administrative and spiritual duties competing for his time,” Torako pointed out frankly.  “You’d be bored standing around watching him have meetings all day and politically it would be wise if Ryuji split bodyguarding duties between you and Renzo-kun… Or Kinzo-kun I suppose,”  Torako shook her head.  “I still can’t believe Renzo renounced his family...  To point- You shouldn’t waste your talents or give up something you obviously love.”

“It sounds really great,” Rin admitted.  “If I could make both things work…”  

“Keep up with your apprenticeship, keep finding ways to work in that aspect of yourself, and once you’re here I’ll help you continue to make your two interests work together,” Torako said.

Bon smirked when Rin joined the other three exwires in front of the building grinning from ear to ear.

Then, just as their cab arrived, there was a commotion from behind the Kyoto field office.    The four Exwires dropped their bags and took off running.  They rounded the corner and saw a small class of younger tamers.  Shima Yumi, the youngest of the Shima siblings, was trying to comfort a wailing and badly injured salamander.  Their teacher and her classmates were staring in shock.  

“What happened?” Bon demanded.

“We were practicing summoning,” the instructor said.  “Yumi-chan’s Hinote was in that condition when he was summoned.”

“Bon-oniisan, Hinote’s really scared,” Yumi exclaimed.  “You gotta help her.”

Rin frowned.  “She says there’s something... somethings? big attacking them in Gehenna.  She’s really glad to be here.”

Bon bit his lip.  “Okay, the rest of you summon your familiars, they might be in danger too.”

Alarmed the children quickly did as Bon ordered.  The naga summoned were fine, but the several of the other salamander were injured and one failed to appear at all, much to his young tamer’s distress.  

Bon turned to the instructor, “Summon as many of the salamander to Assiah as you can,” he said.

“I can summon those generally aligned with the Myodha, but not other Tamers’ familiars,” the man warned.   

Bon turned to a small boy from the Hojo family.  “Run tell Shima-san what’s happening.  We need to spread the word as quickly as possible.  We have to get all the salamander here ASAP.”  

“You might be able to do something faster,”  Konekomaru said to Bon.  “Remember the web Rin showed us?  You’re tied to all of the Myodha and their familiars.  You’re not their Tamer, I don’t think you could force them all to come.  But I think you could extend an invitation.”

“I’m not a tamer at all,” Bon hesitated, then his expression hardened with determination.  “Kamiki, give me one of your summoning circles.  Rin, I need to borrow Kurikara.  It’s a symbol for the Myodha, I think I can use it as a focus.”

Rin nodded and drew his sword.  He planted it blade down between himself and Bon, his flames raging around both himself and the sword.  Izumo handed Bon one of her circles.  Bon took a deep breath and grabbed the paper and the blade, letting Kurikara split open his palm and spill blood over the circle.  “As the descendent of Fukaku, I invite all who are sworn to the Myo-o-Dharani to seek sanctuary!” he declared.  

Rin’s flames exploded out from the sword in a massive pulse, lending their power to Bon’s summons; as it radiated outward it briefly illuminated the Myodha web of alliances.  For a moment after the pulse passed out of visual range all was still.  Then the air shimmered and twisted like a mirage.  Dozens of salamanders materialized all around them.  

And above them, in the still distorted air, appeared three more demons.  Each of the demons was three meters tall, they had giant, bat-like wings and dark, leathery hides.  Long, deadly looking horns sprouted from the sides of their heads.  Red-orange flames seemed to leak out of their pores.  One of them swooped down and grabbed a salamander, with a grunt of effort, it ripped the familiar in half and callously tossed the pieces aside.  Rin snatched up Kurikara and charged, burning with fury at the cold-blooded murder.  All three of the demons turned toward Rin, they stared at him with calculating eyes.  

“Uke!  Mike!  We need your help,” Izumo called as she pricked her finger and smeared the blood on another of her circles.  

“Ifrit,” Uke growled on seeing the three.  “This is bad.”

“I’ll try to contain them,” Bon said.  He summoned Karura. “It’s started,” the firebird said as he helped to reinforce the barrier Bon threw around the courtyard behind the Order’s Kyoto Headquarters.      

One of the Ifrit tilted it’s head to the side.  Looking straight at Rin it reached for another of the salamander.  Rin snarled and slashed at its arm.  Kurikara sliced deeply into the Ifrit’s wrist but stuck as it struck bone.  A second Ifrit took a swipe at Rin.  With a grunt of effort Rin wrenched Kurikara free and jumped clear.  A gout of flame spurted out of the first Ifrit’s wound for a few seconds until it scabbed over.

“Salamander won’t be any help against things like that,” the instructor said, staring at the Ifrit in fear.  

“Get them and the kids out of here!” Konekomaru ordered.  Yumi, who had already been commanding the healthy salamanders to aid their injured brethren nodded.  Konekomaru gave her a grateful smile as she led the retreat.  

Meanwhile, Mike and Uke leapt into battle, working together to keep the third Ifrit from joining the other two  attacking Rin.  Picturing her bells and fans Izumo began the movements of a dance to invite Inari’s power to aid them.  

Rin twisted out of the path of a potentially bone-shattering kick using his wakizashi to draw another short-lived gout of flames from the offending leg.  Then he dove forward, using his flames to push off and avoided being stepped on by the second Ifrit.  

Bon sighed with relief when Yumi and her instructor followed the last of the salamander through the backdoor into the Order’s headquarters.

“I am free from anger, stubbornness have I ended, On the banks of the river Mahī for one night dwelling, Unroofed is my house, my fire extinguished - Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.” Konekomaru chanted.  In response the sky darkened and a light rain began to fall.  

Bon grimaced and diverted some of his effort to cast a weak shield over Rin.  

Mike jumped up and buried his fangs into the Ifrit’s leathery wing, his weight dragged it down and Uke took the chance to lunge for it’s throat.  The Ifrit snarled and smashed the Byakko to the ground.  Izumo cried out in alarm.  A moment later the Ifrit threw Mike off as well.

Blue and orange flames warred as Rin crossed his wakizashi over Kurikara to block one Ifrit’s horns.  The second Ifrit raked his back with it’s claws.  Rin spun and drove Kurikara deep into his attacker’s exposed shoulder.  With an animalistic snarl he twisted his blade and ripped it upward, severing the Ifrit’s arm.  But in the process he’d left himself open to the first’s attack.  At the last moment Rin threw himself on the ground, narrowly evading being skewered by the Ifrit’s horns.  

Bon dropped his containment barrier altogether; the Ifrits seemed more interested in going after Rin than the salamander anyway; “Karura Flame, Seal of Fire Powder,” he shouted and Karura peppered the Ifrit attacking Rin with flame like feathers.  The Ifrit bellowed in annoyance but quickly turned it’s attention back to Rin.  Still the moment of distraction was enough for Rin to roll back to his feet and meet the next attack with his blades.

Uke and Mike pulled themselves back to their feet.  Her face determined, Izumo began her dance again.

A number of Myodha knights armed with K’rik staves and tamers accompanied by Naga poured out of the Kyoto field office.  The Naga swarmed the Ifrits, trying to crush them in their coils, but it quickly became apparent that the difference in the two species of demons’ powers were too great and the Naga retreated.  The knights grimly arrayed themselves to support Rin and the two Byakko.  The Myo-o-dhari Exorcist sect had developed primarily to protect the people of Kyoto from the ravages of demons of Rot with the Kingdom of Flame as their ally; they were poorly equipped to battle the upper echelons of the Flame Kingdom.

Rin’s flames raged around him, his demonic characteristics had gained prominence.  He still clung to his swords, desperately, as if they were talismans as much as weapons, not with swordsman’s grip.  Bon was afraid that Rin was on the verge of going berserk as he had in the forest when Amaimon kidnapped Shiemi the previous summer, but Rin was finally gaining ground against the two Ifrit.  Cloaked in blue flames, his wounds healed more quickly and those he inflicted lingered inspite of the Ifrit’s regenerative powers.    

Suddenly a dozen six-legged creatures swarmed over the courtyard.  They were dripping with moss and algae so thick that it was impossible to determine what the creatures underneath truly looked like but a number of twisted horns sprouted from their narrow heads.  They latched on to the Ifrit and to Rin, dragging them to the ground.  The new demons’ dank covering sizzled as they came in contact with their targets’ flames but they held their position.  The rain Konekomaru had summoned became a torrential downpour.  The winds kicked up and spun the water around so it came at the flame demons from all angles.  Konekomaru turned and saw the Paladin and a woman, her long red hair whipping around her in the wind and rain, standing between the buildings.  At the woman’s shoulder crouched a giant frog-faced creature with a long greenish beard and glowing red eyes, it waved its webbed hand and the winds and rain followed its direction.

“What is going on here?” Angel demanded, Caliburn in hand.

“The Myodha salamanders were under attack,” Konekomaru explained quickly.  “We summoned them to Assiah but the Ifrit came with them.”

“Well that’s a relief, eh Arthur?” Tamer-adept Durov said.  “Better hurry and take care of things; my bukavac almost have them subdued and I know you like a challenge.”

Konekomaru looked doubtful at that.  The moss covered bukavac weren’t retreating but, in his opinion, the Ifrit didn’t seem too securely subdued.  Rin was also straining powerfully against being restrained.  

Angel appraised the situation, “I suppose I should help before your familiars are embarrassed,” he said, agreeing with Konekomaru’s silent assessment.  He walked up to the first of the three Ifrits, then leapt straight up.  As he came down he swung Calibur and took off it’s head.

Bon went to Rin.  He gave the bukavac pinning Rin a wary look as he reached past it to rub the back of Rin’s neck.  “Look, it’s okay,” he said.  “You need to calm down now.”  Almost instantly Rin’s flames died out and his eyes cleared.

Angel raised a hand to shield his eyes from the rain as he started toward the second Ifrit.

Izumo crouched between Mike and Uke, checking them for any injuries.  

With a loud roar the final Ifrit spread it’s wings wide, throwing off the bukavac restraining it.  It lunged at Rin and Bon.  With wide panicky eyes, Rin dragged both himself and the bukavac restraining him into the Ifrit’s path to shield Bon.  Bon raced through the hand signs for a barrier, knowing that he wouldn’t finish in time.  Angel sliced off a lock of his hair, “Angel Slash,” he shouted.  An immense wave of destructive force shot over Rin and Bon’s heads and disintegrated the Infrit completely.  

While everyone sagged in relief, Angel turned back and finished off the last Ifrit.  “I don’t know why anyone worries about the two of you getting adequate field time,” the Paladin remarked dryly as he cleaned the blood off of Caliburn’s blade.  “At times like this it seems I could kill more demons if I gave up taking missions from the Grigori and simply followed you two around to deal with whatever trouble you get into.”

“You could have a point,” Durov remarked as she dismissed her familiars.  “Three Ifrit,” she shook her head.  “It’s been over a hundred years since even one was seen in Assiah.”

* * *

Angel and Durov gated to Rome.  They walked quickly across St. Peter’s Square, then let themselves into a small conference room to make their report.

“Has the Son of Satan been dealt with?” Baltazar asked.

“The information presented earlier was incomplete,” Angel replied respectfully.  “There was a large concentration of demonic power from the Flame Kingdom released at the Kyoto branch, some of it did come from Okumura.  However, he had good reason to call on his powers, I saw no need to execute him.  The Myodha’s familiars were under attack by three Ifrit.  The Myodha were unprepared to deal with such an attack; that Okumura was able to hold out as long as he did against three of Iblis’ shock troops only serves to prove Sir Pheles’ assertation that he has the potential to be a valuable weapon against his father.”

“You felt no concern that that the Son of Satan might go berserk?” Baltazar asked.

“Suguro demonstrated a high degree of control over Okumura through their bond,” Angel reported.  

“The brats made a good choice,” Durov added.  “You draw on that much demonic power you are going to go a little crazy, but it’s nothing to worry about if you’ve got a good anchor to draw you back to yourself.  And even if their bond wasn’t tested before hand, the risk was worth it; the Myodha are one of the only Exorcist sects left that reliably produce Tamers with Flame affinity.  If the True Cross loses all connection with the Flame Kingdom we won’t have the means to check the Kingdom of Rot anymore.”

Baltazar frowned, “Tamers are useful certainly, but we don’t need the help of demons to fulfill our duties to Assiah.”

Durov opened her mouth to argue but before she could say anything Angel stomped on her foot.  “Okumura is under control and using his powers on the Order’s behalf against demons,” he reiterated.  “Due to his and Suguro’s actions the Myodha only lost eight of their Salamander.  Twelve more were injured, but Okumura was able to heal even the most severe wounds within hours.  And we were able to kill three Ifrit.  All around, I consider it a most successful endeavor.”  Then he bowed and shoved Durov out of the conference room ahead of him.

“What was that for?” Durov demanded.  She stood on one foot while rubbing the one Angel had stomped on.

“Tezera, I know you.  You were about to blaspheme,” Angel stated.  “It wouldn’t help Okumura’s case and it would just start them remarking on how much you look, and act, like one of your Rusalka again.”

Durov snorted.  “Seventeen years ago, the True Cross had arranged the deaths of half the Tamers sworn to them and almost all of us had lost familiars.  Then, through the instrument of the member of the Grigori most antagonistic to us Tamers, God allowed the Blue Night to happen.  Not one single Tamer died as a direct result of being possessed by Satan.”

“No, but plenty died when other possessed Exorcists killed them,” Angel pointed out.

“Holy water, sacred soil, blessed ashes, venerated relics; their power comes from the Lord, but it comes through a demonic intermediary.  Gehennans started out as angels, mankind turned them into demons but they’re still our connection to the divine.  So, it’s on us to find some way of turning them back,” Durov declared.  “God’s got better things to do than fix our mistakes.”

“Please do not contaminant my ears with your sect’s hersey,” Angel snapped.  Then more quietly, “You can’t say things like that here.”  

“What’s anyone going to do?” Durov demanded bitterly.  “My brother merging with Veles is what secured their holy water supply.  The least they could do would be to admit that.”  She grimaced, “Lets get out of here, I need a drink.”

“What did I do to deserve to be surrounded with such a bunch of miscreants and reprobates?” Angel demanded.

* * *

Early the next morning, Rin slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and picked up Izumo’s suitcase.  Bon used the key Mephisto had given him to open his closet door, his and Rin’s dorm room at the Academy.  Instead of sightseeing they’d spent the rest of the day tending to the injured salamander.  A small smile turned up the corners of Rin’s mouth, at least where salamander were concerned his flames truly were good for something other than destruction.  Born of fire, it turned out basking in Rin’s flames was the best possible medicine for the injured familiars.     

Rin wrinkled his nose at the smell of fresh paint as he and his fellow Exwires stepped through the gate. The four of them followed the smell to the lobby where they found Godain and Mana standing on a scaffold painting the ceiling.  “Hey, you guys are back!” Godain exclaimed.  “We’re done varnishing the floors but you’re in time to help us paint.”

“When did we get the funds to remodel?” Konekomaru asked.

“Sir Pheles gave us a budget,” Mana replied.  “Michi-chan figured out that if we would do the painting and varnishing ourselves it was enough to cover paying someone to update the wiring.  We got new blinds too.”

“Suzuki-kun says he knows how to install them,” Godain added.  “Which means he’ll supervise while the rest of us do the work.  The project’s taking a little longer than we thought, but by the time we’re done this place is going to look as good as any of the other dorms on campus.  Plus we’ve got the garden floor.”

“Speaking of, where is Shiemi-chan?” Mana asked.

“She and Shima rescued a couple hundred part-demon kids,” Bon replied.  “They’re still helping to set up a sanctuary for them at Delphi.”

Mana and Godain blinked at them in shock.  “In Greece?” Mana asked.

“That’s the one,” Izumo said.  “They’re probably not coming back.”

“Shiemi-chan and Renzo-kun still have their cells.  They sounded pretty happy the last time I called,”  Rin said.  “Have you guys heard from Aiko-chan this summer?  She said she’d keep in touch.”

“Less and less,” Mana admitted.  “She’s pretty absorbed in her studies as a miko.”  

Ito Sora wandered in from the kitchen wearing paint splattered overalls, “You guys are back.  Why don’t you grab paintbrushes and get to work while you tell us about what we can look forward to as second year Exwires,” he said.  “I heard a rumor that you guys pretty much saved all of Kyoto?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Konekomaru’s verse comes from the “Dhaniya Sutta” 
> 
> Rusalka: Russian river nymphs, they entangle men’s legs with their long red hair and drown them.
> 
> Veles: Slavic god of water, earth and the Underworld.


	7. Investigating Agendas

Neuhaus examined a damaged area of Shiemi’s hedge.  A small, green-skinned boy, Yukio’s Kermit, followed behind the one-eyed tamer, mimicking his every move.  “Fire demon,” Neuhaus grunted.  The boy’s brow furrowed as he leaned in to perform his own inspection then he nodded authoritatively.

“I thought it was just humans who hated us.” The former La Llorona who’d brought the damage to Neuhaus’ attention wrung her hands. “Now other demons are attacking us too?”

Her merger with one of Gaia’s granddaughters had rendered her a Gorgon-type demon.  Neuhaus gritted his teeth and forced himself to address the nervous young woman her mannerisms proclaimed her to be rather than the snake-haired monstrosity he saw.  “It could be a familiar,” he said. “But whoever it was, this was a test more than an attack.  Once they figure out Gaia’s the real thing chances are we won’t see them again.”

The girl nodded but her snakes were recoiled and hissing, giving away that she still felt threatened.

Neuhaus sighed.  “Take a look around you, girl.  There are a lot of people who’ve come to help.  Do yourself a favor, stop thinking humans versus demons.  There are humans like the ones at the Facility, but some humans just want to help.  Other demons have their own agendas which may or may not coincide with yours.”

The girl swallowed and smiled tentatively.

Then Neuhaus glanced back at the rapidly shrinking patch of charred brambles.  “There are plenty of assholes around, makes it hard to say where this one comes from,” he grumbled.  “And we’ve still got the Peace Corp visit today.  This is going to make a fun Council.”  

He started back toward the buildings, the green skinned four-year-old trailed along behind him.  When the path turned rocky Neuhaus stopped and held out a hand,  after a moment as small hand slipped into his.  When they reached the Apollo Temple, Neuhaus pointed to a small group of children gathered around one of the Jain who’d responded to Hojo Nishiki’s call for aid.  “Looks like it’s story time,” Neuhaus told Kermit, giving him a small nudge in the group’s direction.

* * *

After he’d finished describing what he’d found at the hedge Neuhaus looked around at the other members of their council.  There was the original rescue group: Michelle, Moriyama Shiemi, the Earth King Amaimon, Renzo and the La Llorona represented by Maria.  They’d been joined by Echidna and a few representatives of the groups who’d come to help:  Tapa Mangal from the Jain, Bhat Sanya from the Hindu and the former Hojo Mamushi had been chosen to speak for the various Buddhist sects.

Neuhaus didn’t know how the Hindu and Jain had chosen their spokesperson but the official logic behind Mamaushi’s nomination was that with her ties to the Myodha cut she wouldn’t favor any sect.  Of course it didn’t hurt that she had a life time of preparation to serve as both her clan’s head and as a member of the Myodha High Council but now she had none of the responsibilities that should have gone with the training.  That went without saying because no one really wanted to bring up what she’d lost in trusting the wrong person.

“Should we cancel the Peace Corps visit?” Shiemi asked.

“It’s not like we need them,” Renzo added.  “A few more tweaks and we’ll have our own power grid.  We’ve got plenty of water.  Shiemi-chan’s gardens provide most of the food we need and, I hate to admit it, but Egyn’s fishing trap took care of our protein problem.  The outhouses aren’t ideal; remind me to thank Mephisto for taking out the Visitor Center when he brought Delphi forward sometime; but with Shiemi-chan’s demon-fungi for composting they’re tolerable.”

Amaimon scowled when Renzo failed to mention that their geothermal power would have been impossible without the Earth King’s power and ground his teeth at the mention of Egyn.  ‘Spending time with the kids, he’s getting more expressive all the time,’ Neuhaus thought.  ‘I like being able to read him.’  

Echidna and Maria were nodding in agreement.  “We don’t need them,” Echidna said.  “These visits are nothing more than Trojan Horses for the True Cross to use to infiltrate us.”

“Even if they provide little material support, we need the visits to maintain control over our public image,” Mangal argued.

“He’s right,” Neuhaus said.  “The media already calls us the Cult of Gaia, it’s on us to prove we’re not a cult.  We’re actively trying to place the kids who aren’t too badly damaged in normal homes.  We allow the visits so we don’t look secretive.  The perimeter’s about providing a secure environment for the kids, it’s not because we can’t withstand scrutiny.  The kids were being abused; five minutes around most of them is enough to prove that; Gaia found out, we answered her call for assistance and rescued them, that’s our story.  We don’t mention who from because the Order of the True Cross has strong ties with every organized religion with exorcists, aka all of them.  We get painted as some lunatic cult and the army outside is going to try to get us off their sovereign soil.”

“Not that they’d have much success,” Michelle said quietly.  She turned to Mamushi, Mangal and Sanya, “We understand that you might not want to follow us into open conflict with the True Cross, but if it comes to that we will win.  Igor and I were upper first class exorcists.  As a demon, I rank as a baroness of the Earth Kingdom.  Renzo’s Yamantaka is a viscount of the Flame Kingdom.  Echidna is a Grand Duchess of the Earth Kingdom; Obizu holds the same rank in the Water Kingdom and I cannot imagine that she wouldn’t fight with us.  Amaimon is the Earth King.”  She nodded to Shiemi, “And of course there is Gaia, whose power is off the scale.  The Blue Night is the closest any living Exorcists has come to battling a demon in Gaia’s class.”

“My sisters and I would fight as well,” Maria declared fiercely.

“And so would the kids,” Neuhaus said flatly.  “And that’s why we can’t let it get to open combat.  I am not going to be responsible for leading a bunch of kids and pregnant girls into shoot-out.  So, the Peace Corps visit goes ahead as scheduled.”

“Everyone be careful to keep all the kids accounted for,” Michelle added.  “We know some of them have ulterior motives and someone out there is looking to start trouble.”

“It could be Saburota Todo,” Mamushi said.  “I saw him lurking around and with the power he stole from the Myodha he could be behind the damage to the hedge.  If it’s him, then it’s not the True Cross trying to stir things up.”

Neuhaus glanced at Renzo and frowned.  After a few moments the pink haired boy seemed to notice  the dark look being directed at him.  He shrugged and grinned in response.  

“Just, everyone be careful today,” Neuhaus sighed, closing the meeting.  “I’m going to go greet our guests.”

Before Renzo could leave, Neuhaus grabbed him by the collar.  “You didn’t mention Saburota Todo was here,” he accused once the room had emptied out.

"Mamushi was just dying to make-up for trusting him before,” Renzo said without guilt.  “Now she’s shown us which side she’s on and she feels better…  Besides, even if Yamantaka did say something about him smelling like Karura, I haven’t actually seen him in battle Mamushi has.”  He slipped out from under Nuehaus’ hand, “You’re going to be late to greet the Peace Corp and assorted spies if you don’t hurry up.”     

* * *

A small army of Hobgoblins with steaming plates waited just outside the area behind the Apollo temple which  had been designated as the cafeteria.  A number of the older children eyed the plates eagerly.  One particularly brave child started edging closer to the plates.  Amaimon glared darkly and the boy scurried back to his place.

The Earth King leapt on top of the long table dominating the courtyard.  “I’m supposed to teach you guys table manners,”  he announced.  “First sit AT the table, not on it or beneath it.  That’s what the benches are for.  The hobs will put your plate, with your food ON the table.  Don’t move it.  Eat off of YOUR plate, that’s the one in front of YOU.  Do NOT eat off your neighbor’s plate, not even if they eat slower than you!  Ask for seconds if you want more, AFTER you clean your plate.  Now everyone find a seat!”

The children milled around for several minutes but eventually everyone found a seat with only a minimal amount of scuffling over who was going to sit where.  One little girl, Meda, who had been one of Yukio’s test subjects stood behind her chair and glared significantly at Amaimon’s boots on the table.  

A greenish flush suffused Amaimon’s cheeks.  “I’m your king, I don’t have to follow the rules,” he muttered.  

“Sing a song of sixpence, pocket full of rye.  Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.  When the pie was opened the birds began to sing.  Wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king?”  Meda responded.

“Reward words,” Amaimon muttered to himself.  He hopped off the table and gingerly patted Meda on the head.  Looking pleased with herself, the little snake-eyed girl primly took her seat.  

At Amaimon’s signal the Hobs descended enmass, quickly placing a plate in front of each child.  The children devoured their food like starving animals, glaring suspiciously at their neighbors and hunching over their plates defensively.  While most of the children didn’t speak, Amaimon could pick up on both intentional and accidental telepathic communications:

//Yum yum.//

//Is hers better than mine?//

//More!!//

//Not hungry now, might be hungry later.//

The Earth King and his hobgoblins circled the table, frowning at anyone who tried the break the rules, wrapping the knuckles of anyone caught reaching for plates other than one in front the child in question and trying to minimize the hoarding of food.

Neuhaus paused at the edge of the meadow with their Peace Corps visitors.  Some looked on with disapproving expressions, others with looks of shock.  Neuhaus made a mental list of who had which reaction and matched it against their list of suspected exorcists.  He knew that the hobgoblins were invisible to anyone without a masho, so to some it seemed that the food floated out to the tables of it’s own accord.  

“How?” One of the braver non-exorcists stammered, apparently less worried than his colleagues about being classified as insane.  

Neuhaus smiled.  “The Lady Gaia provides.  With Gaia’s blessing we’re already harvesting our own crops, we’ve got beans and soy planted, recently Egyn gifted us with a source of fish.  Still some of the kids have digestive systems that are more carnivore than omnivore, so protein has been one of our larger concerns.  Several members of our group are trying to get some chicken coops together but we need to buy the chickens, animals are outside of Gaia’s purview.”  

“Do you expect us to actually believe-” one man began.

“Yeah,” Neuhaus cut him off.  “A living god walks among us.  You can talk to her yourself at three.  Gaia is the real deal, the one from the myths.  We’ve been here for a month, we are harvesting fields planted less than four weeks ago, the geothermal activity of the region has shifted to provide for us.”  His gaze shifted to a cluster of the undisclosed exorcists briefly.  “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of… Or perhaps admitted to.  We’re screwing with your understanding of the world, I know.  I don’t particularly care.  To survive we’ve got to use every resource we’ve got.  Gaia’s a resource, but even her powers aren’t limitless.  I mentioned that we could use some funds to buy chickens...”

An older man in a priest’s habit grinned slightly at that.  Neuhaus blinked, he’d classified the man as an exorcist from his reaction to the hobgoblins.

“We’re adopting out the younger kids as soon as we can find good homes, as soon as Gaia approves of the prospective parents.  But the older kids, several hundred kids, have been abused for as long as they can remember and they’re largely feral.  We didn’t rescue them just to abandon them.  We are setting up infrastructure, organizing the adults who were part of the rescue and those who’ve answered Gaia’s call, Delphi is as self-sufficient as we can make it, but we’re not there yet.”

“So this place is what?  A real world Camp Half-Blood?” one of the group asked.

Neuhaus stared blankly.

The speaker shrugged.  “You’ve said the children are all descended from Gaia, that makes them demi-gods doesn’t it?”

“Close enough,” Neuhaus allowed.

“What right does your group have to this place, it’s a historical site, an important archeological dig-” another began.

“It’s dedicated to Gaia,” Neuhaus replied. “This land isn’t just sacred to her, it’s her body.  If the Greek government wants to discuss ownership of it with her… well, I wish them good luck.  We’re doing everything we can to minimize her impact on the land.  Ticking her off probably won’t help the plant situation.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact,” Neuhaus said.  “She’s a god, being opinionated comes with the territory.”

“And what about you?”  One of the undeclared exorcists asked.  “Aren’t you a criminal?”

“I deserted from a paramilitary organization of exorcists that the Vatican runs but won’t publically claim when they decided my wife was a golem and should be exorcised as an enemy of the True Cross,” Neuhaus said flatly.  “If you don’t admit demons exist, then there’s no reason for an order like the True Cross to exist either so I’m a deserter from a fictional army… Or the people who are telling you I’m a criminal are lying to you.”        

* * *

After walking the Peace Corp group back to their van, which they’d left at perimeter of the campsites that had sprung up around Delphi, Neuhaus spotted Renzo’s pink hair as he made his way back toward the hedge.  

Renzo was leaning against an RV, chatting with a small group Neuhaus recognized as members of one of the the more recently arrived wicca covens.  The older man frowned when he noticed that Renzo wasn’t accompanied by so much as one Hobgoblin.  The teen had even given his military escort the slip.

“If he’s sneaking out to meet a girl I’ll kill him on general principles,” Neuhaus muttered as he turned a corner.  Momentarily out of sight of his own escort he drove a needle through his shirt, into his side, precisely pricking one of the many summoning circles tattooed on his body.  “Formless one, empty skin, come at my call, accept the purpose I provide you,” he muttered quickly.  

A sloppy, vaguely humanoid figure created of stitched together skins formed.  Neuhaus grabbed the thing by it’s chin and forced air into it’s mouth.  The skins seemed to tighten and the creature took on a close approximation of Neuhaus’ appearance.  “Go back to the compound,” he ordered.  “Make sure they follow you.”  Then Neuhaus stepped back into a narrow alley.  A few seconds later the soldiers who had been trailing him walked past the mouth of the alley following the demon shapeshifter.  Once they were gone Neuhaus doubled back until he could keep a discreet eye on Renzo.  

The pink haired teen spoke with the Wicca group for a few more moments then, after glancing around, he took his leave of them.  With Neuhaus trailing him, Renzo made his way toward a quiet section of the tent city that existed around Delphi.  Neuhaus frowned, his hand hovered near his weapon; Renzo seemed to be picking a route that made following him undetected easy.  Back when the boy had been his student, Neuhaus had dismissed him as slacker who took the path of least resistance and didn’t put even the minimum amount of effort into anything he did except when it came to girls.  But at Rio, when Renzo had taken over command of the rescue mission, he’d seen an entirely different side of the teen; he’d seen someone calculating and ruthless.  Neuhaus took the lesson to heart and since then had made a point of never accepting Renzo’s surface appearance as the real thing.  If it was this easy to follow Renzou, there was a good chance the teen intended to be followed.  Neuhaus wondered if it was him or someone else that was supposed to be drawn in.

“One would think you’re trying to get mugged, the way you go about things,” Todo remarked stepping out of the shadows to confront Renzo.  “I thought I taught you more about discretion.  Also I distinctly remember telling you to watch the Kamiki girl.”   

Renzo gave a put upon sigh.  “And not to raise suspicions by doing anything unusual.  You know, it would be a lot easier if everyone just got together and sorted out what I’m supposed to do.  The Myohda want me to protect Bon, but not to be obvious about it so the True Cross doesn’t catch on.  You Illuminati want me to spy on Izumo-chan, but not to be obvious about it so neither the True Cross nor the Myohda catch on.  The True Cross assigned me to partner with Shiemi-chan…  Well, since everyone wants me to do what the True Cross tells me to I figured I had to go with Shiemi-chan, I mean what else would her knight do?”

Todo shook his head.  “Do people actually buy your act, kid?” he asked.

Renzo grinned,  “You look in the mirror lately?  You’re not old enough to be calling me a kid.”  Then he dropped the laid-back persona.  “Your group wants to restore Lucifer to his former strength and return Satan to Assiah.  Well, take a look around:  You’re betting that Izumo-chan is compatible with Inari, I know Shiemi-chan can and has hosted Gaia.   Gaia is acting on Assiah again and if she’s less powerful than Satan then I’m bunny-rabbit.    It took Gaia less than two months to re-establish herself and your group is still looking for a test case after, what, a couple of decades?  More?  You never did tell me if you were the historical Illuminati or just using the name...  Well, anyway, it seems like you’d want someone on the inside here, taking notes on how things should be done.”

Todo studied Renzo for a long time,  “What’s this ‘your group’ nonsense, you’ve sworn loyalty to Lucifer just as plainly as any of us.”

Renzo gave Todo a cool look.  “My loyalty in return for power.  But from where I’m sitting the only power Lucifer has is what we give him.  Now I’m sure he’s got it all worked out in his head how his followers are going to be lords in the new world he will usher into being… once he wins.  I’m sure he feels like he’s got his bases covered, but me, I’m not so sanguine about his chances.”

“Tell Lucifer that Mephisto is on the move,” Renzo stated.  “Amaimon is his.  Astaroth has fallen and Anubis, who is has sworn neutrality, has taken the Kingdom of Rot; what’s left of it.  Gaia is back in Assiah and Mephisto is cozying up to her.  Unless I miss my guess Okumura Rin, the youngest son of Satan, inheritor of the Blue Flames, has more than enough potential to become a Hell King and he is Mephisto’s.”

“You think any of that is news to us?” Todo asked blandly.

Renzo shrugged.  “If it’s not news then you’re not interpreting it right:  Mephisto is winning.  I signed on with you, swore an oath to Lucifer, because I like being on the winning side.  But from what I can see, Lucifer can only keep up his end of the bargain IF he’s the winner.”   He gave Todo a sweet smile.  “If you’re not the winning side you’ve got nothing on me.”        

Todo peered at Renzo curiously.  “You enjoy gambling your life and soul?  That’s... Unexpected.”

“Don’t we all?” Renzo asked.  “I just don’t see the point in lying to myself.  If you can’t pick the winning side, you’re dead.  Other people might like pretending that they’ve got some cause that makes it all worthwhile, but that’s a load of shit.  Nothing matters when you’re dead.”

“I could kill you right now,” Todo suggested.  “If you’re not ours I could see that it doesn’t make a speck of difference to you which sides wins.”

Renzo shook his head.  “You’ll never get someone further inside Delphi than I am,” he said.  “I’ve let you know that I’ll turn on you if you can’t pull this off so you I have to stay valuable until I’m sure you’re a losing bet.  I’m no one’s loyal dog, but I am useful.  If you’re ready to ignore that just because I won’t lick your hand like a good puppy then I’ve no doubt that you’ll lose to Mephisto.  And in that case I’m dead either way.  So get it over with or prove to that Lucifer can get off his ass and do something before Mephisto’s completely unassailable.”

After Todo had left Neuhaus stepped out of a shadowed doorway.

“Mephisto told me to light a fire under them,” Renzo said.  “I think that should do it.  As a bonus, you can confirm some of the stuff I told Mephisto when I confessed.  You agree?”

“Kid, when it comes to your willingness to jump sides, you’re a little too convincing,”  Neuhaus said.      

“Why is it that your parents have to be as over the top evil as Rin-kun’s before it stops horrifying people when you’re not blindly loyal to blood?” Renzo asked.  “Maybe Mephisto’s the one who’s going to sell me on a cause.”

“I didn’t see it soon enough, but Okumura’s loyal to the man who raised him, I can respect that,” Neuhaus said. “But you, you’re not loyal to anything.  And that makes you dangerous.”    

“Just because you can’t figure out what it takes to win my loyalty, you’re all nervous,”  Renzo grinned.  Then he sent dark look after Todo, “Well, if you want a hint, assholes who hurt kids just for the hell of it don’t have what it takes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An early update, then I’ll be busy for a while. So Happy New Year everyone.


	8. Beloved Siblings

Sunday afternoon Izumo stepped back to survey the new paint job in the third floor lobby with satisfaction.  “That should do it.”

Rin nodded.  “We did a good job.  Once it’s dry the other guys and I can start hauling up the bookshelves.  Then we’ll have our own library.  We can unpack those boxes of rare books the junior class scored this summer and Bon can finally stop salivating over them.”

Izumo frowned at the mention of Bon’s name.

“Bon and Konekomaru and probably Mana-chan too, I heard she’s going for Aria,” Rin corrected himself. Then he stepped up behind Izumo and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling the side of her neck.  “Everyone else is busy and it’s been days and days,” he pointed out.

“Not in here,” Izumo protested, flushing.  “Anyone could walk in.  Besides, if the smell of the paint bothers me, it must bother you.  Lets go to my room, Paku volunteered to help stage this year’s Fall Festival, they have a meeting tonight so she won’t be back until late.”

“Your room?” Rin squeaked, his eyes went wide.

Izumo grabbed his hand, her cheeks were cherry red as she unlocked her door and pulled him inside.  “It’s not like we’re going any further than before,” she insisted.  “It’s just a room.”  She locked the door and put the chain on, just in case Paku came back early.

Rin stood in the middle of the room, hands at his sides as if he were afraid to touch anything or sit anywhere.  Izumo glanced at her bed then pulled out her desk chair for him.  With no place convenient to sit herself, Izumo hopped up on the desk.  Rin scooted the chair closer and she leaned down to kiss him.  

Sitting like that, the height difference between them forced Rin to stretch up and Izumo to bend over awkwardly.  Izumo braced her forearms against Rin’s chest and leaned into him.  Rin’s lips were chapped and slightly rough, his mouth was stained red and Izumo could faintly taste the cherry popsicle he’d eaten earlier.  She scooted forward, to the edge of the desk.  Rin put his hands on her hips, supporting her as she leaned into him.  She edged forward a bit more, liking the way Rin’s strength made her feel weightless as he steadied her precarious perch.  

After a few minutes of kissing, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for Izumo to slide off the desk altogether and into Rin’s lap, straddling the chair.  Rin ran his hands up and down her back, urging Izumo to press herself more closely against him.  Izumo pulled her legs up, tucking them alongside Rin’s thighs on the edges of the chair.  

Rin’s hands slid down to cup her butt and Izumo gasped as it pressed her core against his growing hardness.  Before he could retreat, Izumo licked at Rin’s lips.  She tangled her fingers in his hair as she deepened the kiss.  Rin’s breath came in irregular pants and huffs as he tried to control his body’s reaction to Izumo pressing up against him, her scent and heat surrounding him.  Izumo’s fingers found their way under the collar of Rin’s shirt.  She traced the column of his neck until her thumbs were rubbing circles over the ridge of his collar bone.  Rin’s pulse raced under her fingers.  

Izumo could feel herself becoming wet as Rin squirmed beneath her, she could feel him hard against her.  Rin started to push her away, like he had every other time they made out.  Izumo pressed herself closer to him, “I like it,” she whispered, burying her face against Rin’s neck so he couldn’t see how red her face was.  “I like feeling that I-I turn you on.  That I’m not funny-looking to you or that crazy girl.  It feels good that you want me.”

Rin shivered and clutched Izumo against him, “How can you want me?  I’m-”

Izumo claimed his mouth before Rin could repeat any of the negative things he’d been taught to believe about himself.  Rin’s hands slid up her back, Izumo’s shirt had come untucked, they both gasped as his fingers her bared midriff.  

They kissed until they were both dizzy from the lack of oxygen. Izumo sat back, staring down at Rin, his head tipped back, eyes dark with lust, mouth open, chest heaving as he panted for air.  No one was going to walk in and catch them.  

Once she had her breath back, Izumo kissed Rin again, her tongue darting out to taste his mouth.  He groaned and pressed up against her.  They continued kissing from several minutes more.  Izumo felt like there needed to be some sort of conclusion.  She licked her lips and reached for the button to Rin’s pants.  

“No,” Rin said, suddenly fearful.  He lifted her back on to the desk and scooted away, the chair legs screeching against the title floor.  

Izumo pressed her legs together and smoothed her shirt down feeling ashamed how forward she’d been.  Rin looked like he’d had a bucket of ice water dumped on him.  For several moments they sat there, not looking at each other.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Rin mumbled.

“What?” Izumo exclaimed.

Rin flinched.

“How would you hurt me?” Izumo demanded recovering her poise.

Staring at the wall to Izumo’s left, Rin turned up his hands, as if reaching for the words he couldn’t quite find.  “People say bad stuff about girls who um… and I’m...”

“And guys brag about how far they go,” Izumo stated.  “Double standards are stupid.  Don’t worry about anyone but us.”

“How can I?” Rin exclaimed.  “The Order burned my mom for getting pregnant with me.  What if they hurt you for being with me?”

Izumo flushed.  “I absolutely wasn’t going to do anything that could get me pregnant,” she said.  Then she sighed, “I should tell you.”

At her tone, Rin looked at her worriedly.  

Izumo slid off the desk and walked over to the window.

“I have a little sister,” Izumo said, leaning her forehead against the glass.  “Out there, somewhere.  I’m responsible for her.  I can’t risk anything that would get in the way of finding her, of making sure she’s okay.  Tsukumo’s just a baby and I let them take her away.”

“Who?” Rin asked, getting up to follow her.  “What can I do to help?”

“Nothing,” Izumo bit her lip.  “I shouldn’t have told you.  You can’t do anything and I can’t tell you anything else.  If they get mad, they’ll hurt Tsukumo.  This is my responsibility, but you should know why.  I don’t know what sort of stupidity the Order thinks because of who your father is, but I’ll stop us from going that far because I have to put Tsukumo above everything else until she’s safe and happy.”

“I understand,” Rin said.  “You have to take care of your family, I understand that.”  He grimaced.  “When the Order tried to burn my mom, that was the Blue Night.  I ought to hate Satan for the Blue Night, everyone else does, but he was trying to rescue my mom.  Even if I’m sure he was just using her, the Order was gonna burn my mom at the stake and Satan rescued her.  But the Myodha weren’t even a part of the Order then and he killed Konekomaru’s parents and Professor Neuhaus’ family.  I don’t know what to think.”

“Does it matter?” Izumo asked.  “Maybe he was using her and didn’t care who got hurt to keep his plans from being upset.  That he came after you all these years later sort of points to that.  Or he loved her and he didn’t care who got hurt saving her; you don’t have to be a good person to fall in love.

For several moments Rin silently chewed on his lower lip.  “No,” he said.  “Even if he was just trying to protect my mom that night; he’s Satan, evil.  Bon and I, we’re going to defeat him.”

They stood together silently for a long time, then Izumo whispered.  “I don’t know what I’m going to have to do to save Tsukumo.  I don’t want to hurt anyone except the people who took her.”  Izumo’s expression twisted.  “Them?  If I have the chance, I’ll cut their throats as they sleep,” she snarled.  “But if I have to, to save Tsukumo…  Our mother, she was never there for us.  I always looked out for Tsukumo, she was so little.  I can’t be like my mother.  I can’t let her down too.  Tsukumo’s my baby sister, I won’t leave her with no one to depend on.”

“Let me help you,” Rin said.  “Whatever I can, whatever you need, let me help.”

Slowly, hesitantly, Izumo nodded and Rin closed the gap between them.  They stood together, staring out into the night until Paku came back from her meeting and found the door latched then teased Izumo unmercifully as Rin retreated downstairs.   

* * *

At four forty, on the first day of class in the new term, Rin rolled out of bed eager to start the day.  He glanced over at Bon’s side of the room then snickered.  “Well, at least you’ve got the sense to read in bed instead of trying to sit up all night,” he whispered as he picked up the open book resting on Bon’s face and put it on the nightstand beside the other boy’s alarm clock after carefully marking the page.  Later, as he slipped out the door into the pre-dawn morning, it hit Rin that he’d thought about Yukio, tangentially at least, without feeling guilt or pain.

“Hi guys!” Rin called as he let himself into the Academy’s kitchen and traded his school jacket for a chef’s smock.

“Welcome back,” Itamae shouted from deeper in the kitchen.  “I hear you had a productive summer.”  

“It was really cool being in charge of a kitchen,” Rin admitted.  

“Well then, you should be ready to learn how to make a souffle,” Itamae said.  “Ukobach started practice a week ago.”  

The little demon looked up from his counter and grinned at Rin challengingly.

Rin gulped, then smiled, “Bring it on.”

Several hours later, Godain stopped by to give Rin his backpack.  “There’s always tomorrow,” he overheard Itamae console Rin in a teasing tone.

“See you in math,” Godain said as he turned to go.

“Yeah.  Thanks,” Rin said hefting the backpack.  Then he ducked his head in embarrassment, “I can’t believe I forgot this.”

After his half-day of standard academics Rin joined the three second year Exwires for there Demonology class.  Adachi-sensei looked from the four filled seats in his classroom to the clock and frowned.  

“We’re it,” Bon said.  “Shima and Moriyama aren’t looking to join the True Cross anymore.  I figured you would have heard.”

“Sir Pheles’ notion of priority can be unique,” Adachi sighed.  “We spent our last staff meeting writing letters to one of the networks protesting the removal of his favorite character from one of his anime, apparently the lost of two of his students didn’t rate.”

Izumo rolled her eyes, Konekomaru covered his face, Bon sighed and Rin snickered.  None of the Exwires were particularly shocked by Mephisto’s behavior anymore.

“Well, if that’s the case get out your texts,” Adachi continued.  “We will be continuing our studies of the so-called pagan ‘gods’ from last term.  Review your Roman, Greek and Norse gods from last term, they will be on the final.  This term we will be adding Egyptian, Slavic, and Polynesian mythologies.  These are particularly important as Anubis is the current King of Rot, replacing Astaroth.  Pele and Veles are also very important as they-”

The door slammed open.  “Okumura!  Suguro!  Gather your gear and meet me at the Administration building.  You have fifteen minutes,”  Angel ordered.  He gave Adachi a perfunctory nod. “Apologies, time is of the essence.”  

Bon and Rin shoved their chairs back and ran.

“Suguro, any practice with rifles?” Angel called after the boys.  

Bon wrinkled his nose in disgust, “I’m better with my Walther.”

“Not enough range.”

“I’ve worked a little with a Blaser,” Bon admitted.  “But I don’t like sniper rifles.”

Angel was already typing a message into his cell phone.  “There will be one waiting for you.”  He glanced at Adachi, “I’ll have them back by Wednesday morning.  Let their other instructors know they are excused from class.”

Adachi glanced over his remaining two students.  “We’ll have a study hall today,” he decided.

* * *

Rin and Bon arrived at the Administration building with minutes to spare.  Angel, Tamer-Adept Durov and Dragoon-Adept Oakley met them at Angel’s office.  “What’s our mission?” Bon asked.

“Pele is under attack by Monadalkni,” Angel said as he flipped through his keyring to produce a large golden key.  He inserted it into the lock and opened the door onto a hallway lined with marble columns.  Oakley handed each of the boys a large, heavy box to carry.    

The moment the five of them walked through the doorway Rin noticed a change in the humidity and the smell of the air.  “Where are we?” he asked.  

“Rome,” Angel said.  

Rin gapped and stared around with wide-eyed wonder as Angel strode down the hall with a purposeful stride.  Bon shook his head fondly and grabbed Rin’s elbow, hauling him along as Rin continued trying to take in the sights.  

“We are about to intervene in a battle between two so-called volcano gods in the middle of a volcano.  This will require special preparation,”  Angel declared.  Then he noticed that Rin was paying much more attention to the artwork lining the walls than to him and promptly thwacked the back of Rin’s head.  “This is a mission, not a sightseeing expedition!” he scolded.

Rin looked properly chastised but Bon still caught him stealing glances at their surroundings as Angel led them through St. Peter’s Basilica, down innumerable flights of stairs to the catacombs then lower still.  They paused for a moment to pick up lanterns then continued their descent.

The stairs terminated in a vast grotto, a cool blue glow emanating from deep, deep below the surface of the water illuminated the underground lake.  Durov stepped forward.  She took a small paper boat out of her coat, Rin and Bon caught a quick glimpse of the runes drawn on the paper before Durov pricked her finger with a pin and pressed the drop of blood to the paper.  “Veles, brother, I am here, come to me,” she entreated as she pushed the boat out into the water.

“You can set down the munitions boxes,” Oakley said.  “Veles will keep us waiting for a while, to remind us who he is if for no other reason.  

Bon sighed with relief as he set the heavy box down.  Rin easily stacked his box on top of Bon’s then wandered toward the water’s edge, peering curiously into the gloom, trying to see the lake’s far side through the colorful stalactites hanging from the ceiling like frozen waterfalls.

“Don’t touch the water,” Angel warned Rin.  “This is the source of the True Cross’ holy water, the most potent in existence. It burns even if you’re purely human; in your case it would likely sear you to the bone in an instant.  Only demons of the Water Kingdom or those like Tereza, who possess a strong affinity for Water can safely come in contact with it.”  

Rin felt his oath to Mephisto take hold and took several steps back toward the stairs.

Angel dropped into parade rest, never quite turning his back on the underground lake, as he addressed Rin and Bon.  “Two hours ago exorcists in Hawaii became aware that Pele was under attack by a second volcano god, Monadalkni of the Pacific Northwest.”  He tossed Bon a small booklet, “Chants from the Klamath People’s shamen, they successfully resisted his incursion into Assiah during the eruption of Moy-Yaina, now known as the State of Oregon’s Crater Lake.”

“Monadalkni has no known oaths to Assiah, he was kept in check by Gmok’am’c, a mountain spirit,” Angel continued.  “If Monadalkni defeats Pele, he could conceivably cause a volcanic eruption that would obliterate the Island of Hawaii and fill the skies with enough ash to initiate a minor ice age, effecting weather patterns across the globe.  He has always been regarded as an evil spirit and an enemy of mankind,”  The Paladin frowned.  “If Pele is defeated the True Cross will need to find yet another source of Blessed Ashes, or face severe shortages.”

Bon chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully as he started skimming through the book Angel had given him.  The loss of the Academy’s Peg Lanterns, the attack on the Myohda Salamanders, now this; it seemed like a shortage of Blessed Ashes was someone’s goal not a side-effect.

“We will not be able to engage Monadalkni in direct combat due to the nature of the battlefield,” Angel continued.  “Ms. Annie will attempt to shift the battle in Pele’s favor by sniping Monadalkni with holy water shot.”

“Suguro, I checked your long range target scores while we waited,” Oakley said.  “Stick to chanting unless this really goes to hell.  Past a hundred feet; that’s around thirty meters; your aim’s not good enough.  Even if Pele and Monadalkni aren’t in close combat you’d still be friendly-fire risk at the sort of distances we’re hoping to maintain.”

“Tereza and I will be intercepting any attacks directed at the party,” Angel resumed.  “Okumura, this is a good opportunity for you to observe and begin developing techniques for using your sword to cast your flames, turning them into a ranged attack.  Also, once your demonic heart is unsealed, you should be invulnerable to normal lava, we may need to use you as a spotter for Ms. Annie if we can’t get a clear line of sight on the battle.  However, a stronger Flame Demon can burn you, stay clear of both Monadalkni and Pele’s attacks.”

Angel grimaced, “While Pele is bound to provide us with blessed ashes and considered… less evil than temperamental, even  somewhat benevolent under the proper conditions, she regards us as insects and is fighting for her existence on this plane.  She is not fighting as our ally and won’t care if we get caught in the path of her rage.”

Rin and Bon both nodded.

“Suguro, I don’t know if Monadalkni’s fatal verse is in that book,” Angel admitted.  “But the Klamath shamen's sphere of influence is limited enough that we don’t have to worry about the verses effecting Pele.  I’ve been assured that you’re capable of cold reading in a foreign language.  The first few pages are a pronunciation guide, you’ll have roughly an hour and a half drive to use to study it before we reach the volcano site, do your best.   It’s a long shot, but worth trying.  Also you’ll be able to observe an expert Dragoon in battle.”

Rin sensed a change in the atmosphere of the grotto.  Durov held up a hand for silence for silence.  Angel reached for his sword, but with a clear act of will, he kept himself from drawing it.  The surface of the lake began to stir.  The water rose. Rin backed up to the stairs, tugging Bon along with him.  

A man appeared, at first glance he seemed to be walking on the surface of the water, but on closer examination one realized that he was actually part of the water.  His legs ended at mid-calf, there were no feet beneath the water’s surface, just a slight broadening of his legs as they merged with the water.  The man looked barely older than Rin and Bon, his skin was translucently pale and his hair was a dark shade of red then Durov’s but they shared remarkably similar features.  “Why have you awoken me?” he asked.  “My eternal rival Perun is gone and I find no amusement in quarrling with the new sun god who has replaced him.  Why do you stir me from slumber?”  

While the rest of the party retreated, Durov stood her ground, the water rose around her until it lapped at her thighs.  “Veles, search your human heart and know me, I am Tereza, the sister of your flesh.  I called you.”  

The man leaned down and tilted her face up to his.  “You are familiar little one,” he said.  For a moment he looked thoughtful.  “I am fond of you.  I will forgive you for waking me.”

“Elder brother, my friends and I go to fight a demon of Flames,” Durov said.  “I humbly beseech your aid.  Perun is gone, that is true and those who have risen in his stead are unworthy of your rivalry.  But there are those sworn to the Kingdom of Flame who do not respect the turning of the seasons and the natural cycles of the world as you and Perun did.  I would do battle with them in your name, I ask your blessing on this endeavor.”

Veles considered her for a long time, stroking the side of her face.  “Every year I would climb from my watery underworld, up to Perun’s sky castle and steal something from him.  Not because I particularly wanted anything of his, but because he would come to take it back.  Such glorious battles we fought, every year.  But I am alone now, the last of my people…”  He trailed off, blinking myopically down at Durov.  “Little Tereza, when did you get so old?” he asked in confusion.

Tears trickled silently down Tereza’s cheeks.  “Anatoly,” she whispered.  “Oh, Anatoly, it didn’t happen all at once you idiot.”   Absently he absorbed her tears into his body before they could fall.

Tereza gave herself a slight shake.  “Anatoly, we need your help.  I’m going to fight a volcano god; my friend over there is a dragoon.  We need the strongest holy water shot imaginable.”

“I can do that,” Anatoly said.  Tereza waded out of the lake, opened up the first box of munitions and carried back to him.  He touched the open casings and water ran from his fingers to fill them.  When the first box was finished Tereza handed it off to Oakley and went to get the second.  

“Help me seal these,” Oakley said to Bon.  

Twenty minutes later, when the last of the holy water shot was sealed and ready for use, Anatoly kissed Tereza on the forehead then turned and walked back out into the grotto, sinking into the water as he walked away.  Tereza knelt in the retreating water and splashed her face to remove any evidence of her tears before they started back up the many flights of stairs to the world above.


	9. Volcano God

The timer on the rice cooker chimed. Izumo scooped out and patted the gummy white grains into neatly rounded mounds. She garnished them with a few sprigs of parsley then summoned Uke and Mike.

“What’s the occasion, Little Sis?” Mike asked as he examined the offering.

“I’m just being nice,” Izumo replied. “And I wanted you to teach me more about bonds... I’m worried about Rin.”

Uke raised his muzzle from his rice. “It’s definitely in our best interest to look after Rin-kun,” he remarked. The byakko stole a sly, side-long glance at Izumo. “Especially if you’d get him to prepare your offering next time.”

Izumo thumped him on the haunch. “You are so rude,” she complained without much heat.

“We’re just saying we approve of your dating a guy who can cook,” Mike remarked, his tongue hanging out in a canine laugh.

“And that you should share the bounty,” Uke added.

“If you’re going to act like brats I refuse to be your younger sister,” Izumo replied primly. “I’m much more mature than the two of you.”

“Oh she goes and kisses a boy and now she’s all grown up,” Mike said to Uke.

“A bit more than kiss,” Uke replied. “But she did all the initiating, we must have done a good job of the big brother thing with Rin-kun.”

“Yep, we definitely approve,” Mike said. “He cooks and he’s respectful of our little sister… Or at least as respectful as she wants.”

“Enough!” Izumo exclaimed, her cheeks pinking. “I need to talk with you SERIOUSLY!”

Uke rubbed his forehead against Izumo’s shoulder. “We’ll be good now. What’s worrying you?”

Izumo took a deep breath, putting her thoughts together. “The two of you are strongly bound to serve my bloodline, but you’re not shy about letting me know when you’re unhappy, or when you have an opinion-”

“Or when we just feel like teasing you,” Mike added.

Izumo rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement. “Rin really wants to keep Suguro happy. And when Suguro doesn’t like something Rin loses interest in it; half the time he doesn’t even realize he’d doing it.”

“You should marry Rin-kun,” Uke said promptly.

“I told you this was serious!” Izumo snapped. “Suguro shouldn’t hold that much sway over him. I think there’s something wrong with their bond. It’s screwing with Rin’s mind.”

Mike and Uke conferred with each other for a few minutes. “There’s nothing wrong with the bond,” Mike said. “Rin-kun just isn’t fighting it.” 

“Our bond to you is inherited,” Uke picked up. “Your mother’s orders still hold some power for us.” Izumo flinched. “As do her mother’s”

Mike wrinkled his nose in amusement. “I’ve still got it on the books that I should spank you if you won’t eat your vegetables.”

“Try it and you’ll regret it,” Izumo snarled.

“Where tension exists between your wishes and your mother’s the bonds loosen,” Uke said, before they could get too far off track.

“They’re like those stretchy things you tie up your hair with,” Mike explained. “Yes, they bind us, they pull us in a certain direction, but they’re flexible. If we push back; interpretation, limitation, counterbalance; they give... to a degree. They can even be stretched to the breaking point, but the backlash is often deadly.”

“Okumura Yukio attacked Rin-kun’s sense of belonging as well as his sense of worth,” Uke said. Izumo’s mouth thinned. “Being bound creates a tangible sense of connection, sense of place that Rin-kun welcomes.”

“But Rin-kun’s bond is different from ours,” Mike added. “He’s bound to Suguro-kun personally. You are the intercessor between Inari and Assiah. Protecting and serving you defines us, it gives us purpose in Assiah, but we’re bound to the position, not to you personally.”

“There are pluses and minus to both,” Uke shrugged. “Once Suguro-kun dies Rin-kun will no longer be bound. Our service to Inari’s miko will only be ended in one of three ways: Our destruction, Assiah’s destruction or Inari’s complete withdrawal from matters of Assiah.”

“When you act as Kamiki Izumo, not as Inari’s miko we have much greater latitude to decide how much obedience we owe you,” Mike said. 

Uke gave Izumo a remonstrating look, “For longest time you refused to be Inari’s miko, so we only answered your summons because it let us keep an eye on you and that was what your mother would have wished before she became love-sick and forgot herself and her responsibilities.”

“She always had you take care of her responsibilities to Tsukumo and I, she was never a mother to us,” Izumo said resentfully. “Did she order you to love her? Is that why you’re still so loyal to her?” 

Uke and Mike conferred silently between themselves for a long time. “Tamamo never ordered us to love her, but she needed to be loved so badly, the bond does pull us toward loving her,” Uke admitted.

“Not that we ever resisted,” Mike said quickly. “Before her need for that man made her sick, she was beautiful and kind, her joy was radiant. We loved to see her happy.”

“I don’t want to talk about her,” Izumo said unhappily. “I’m worried about Rin. I don’t care about her, she’s already dead to me.” 

Uke sighed, “Tell Rin-kun when he changes his mind because of the bond. Remind him of his own priorities. He should get used to pushing back on his bonds, not everyone who manages to bind him will have good intentions.”

* * *

With the potent holy water secured, Angel led his little group back to the office area off St. Peter’s Square. He opened the door they’d arrived through with a new key. Rin and the others stepped through and found themselves in a small, elaborately painted church. Rin gapped at the columns painted as palm trees between the biblical scenes on the walls. Angel closed the door to Rome behind them then returned his keys to his pocket and opened the doors again. This time they found themselves looking out over a steep hillside and down to the ocean.

“We’re in Hawaii,” Rin marveled. “Oh man, I wish Izumo could have come.”

“Mission!” Angel and Bon exclaimed together. 

Rin hunched his shoulders and stared at his feet. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Bon sighed guiltily, “I know, you’ve never been here before. Maybe we’ll have a little time to look around after the mission.”

“I didn’t pull you out of your classes to sightsee,” Angel protested but Rin’s expression had already perked up a bit.

Around the side of the chapel they found another building and a waiting car. Bon and Rin loaded the ammo in the trunk then Bon grabbed a corner in the back and buried his nose in the book of chants Angel had provided. Rin squeezed in next to Bon and Durov took the seat beside him while Angel claimed the front passenger seat and Oakley drove.

The road wound along the scenic coast line, around the southern end of the island then began to climb toward the volcano summit. Before long the five of them were hiking across a black, barren landscape toward the glowing cauldron of the volcano. Heavy plumes of steam and the occasional jet of lava shot up into the air from the cauldron’s depths. “A good sign,” Angel remarked. “The battle between Pele and Monadalkni still rages.”

“Visibility is lousy,” Oakley said. “I’m going to have to use Okumura to spot.” 

“How’s that work?” Rin asked.

Oakley grinned and held up a small camera attached to a headband. “It gives me gps data on it’s location as well as letting me use your eyes,” she said.

“And you can actually hit a target like that?” Rin asked dubiously. 

“Kid, I can shoot ‘round a corner and hit what I aim at. I’m the Dragoon-adept, the best shot in True Cross and, as far as I know, the world,” Oakley replied.

“And she’s modest too,” Angel tossed in.

“Every bit as modest as you,” Oakley shot back. She adjusted the headband a little so it fit Rin securely then turned it on.

“Don’t get any closer than you have to get a clear view of the battle,” Angel warned Rin. “If you don’t have to, don’t descend all the way to the floor of the crater, but find a broad spot on the trail with some cover in case Monadalkni spots you. We’ll be on the rim of the crater. Suguro, don’t start chanting until Monadalkni zeroes in on where Ms. Annie’s shots are coming from. Sniping has higher odds of success, although even with Holy Water straight from the source, we don’t expect to do more than wound and distract Monadalkni; it will be up to Pele to take advantage of our intervention.”

When they reached the rim of Halema’uma’u Crater, Oakley broke out a laptop which Rin realized was linked to his headset and strange looking rifle, then she started setting up a tripod. “This baby lets you control a lot more about your shot than the standard rifle,” she explained. “I can adjust the muzzle velocity as well as changing where I aim it., drop bullets out of the clear blue sky like rain, if I want.”

“Suguro, stay near Ms. Annie,” Angel instructed. “Through Okumura’s camera you’ll be able to see if you find Monadalkni’s fatal verse and Tereza and I will only have one location to protect. Okumura, unseal your heart before you get any closer.”

Rin nodded. He drew both his swords, blue flames flared around him. With a grimace Rin willed them down to a faint halo. Then he sheathed Kurikara using the scabbard for his second sword. “When I fought the dragon, I really would have liked two hands free,” Rin explained to Angel. “A normal sheath doesn’t work as a seal for Kurikara and you had my second sword made to match Kurikara.”

“We should add a third sword sheath to your harness,” Angel said. “Switching swords like that in battle would leave you open. Now remember, don’t get any closer than you have to. Don’t engage, your job is to be Ms. Annie’s eyes, not to fight Monadalkni.”

Rin rolled his eyes. “I might not be Aria material but I can remember simple instructions for five minutes.” 

“I have my doubts about that,” Angel sniffed. “Stay safe.”

Rin waved and started down the tryail into the crater. The smell of sulfur and other volcanic gases intensified dramatically within moments. The floor of the crater was pitch black and riddled with glowing red fissures. Bursts of lava spewed up in curtains that dazzled Rin’s ees and made it even harder to see through the smog of gases and the heat distortion rising out of the crater. He was almost three-quarters of the way down to the crater floor when he finally caught sight of a figure moving about the floor. 

The winds shifted and the smog parted, the figure resolved into a massive grey-skinned humaniod with overly long arms and a large pot-belly. A moment later Oakley’s first bullet struck home, the holy water sizzled and a spurt of lava erupted from Monadalkni’s side. He wrinkled his bulbous nose and swatted at the wound as if it were a mosquito’s bite. “Come out, come out little exorcists,” the volcano god called. 

Rin stopped and crouched down. He searched for any sign of Pele. 

A second bullet answered Monadalkni’s hail. He stomped his foot and a wave of lava arced up toward the rim of the crater, easily covering a fourth of the perimeter.

“Angel Slash!” Angel shouted. The bolt of power from his sword cut through the lava and diverted it around their group. A moment later Rin heard Bon’s voice rise in a steady stream of words that were completely foreign to Rin’s ears. The Paladin stepped out to the rim of the crater and stood, one hand on his hip, Caliburn’s point casually resting on the ground. “You’re trespassing Monadalkni. We’re here to send you back to Gehenna where you belong.”

“And you’re a sucker Paladin,” Monadalkni replied. He grinned, showing jagged black teeth, smoke seeped out of the corner of his mouth. “Pele went down real easy. I’ve been kicking up a fuss all on my own to see who’d be lured in.”

Angel lopped off a lock of his hair and cast a powerful bolt at Monadalkni in return. Oakley followed up with two shots in quick succession. Monadalkni countered Angel’s attack with a wave of lava and caught Oakley’s bullets on a raised forearm. “Well if that’s the way you want to play it, Paladin, I can always wipe out the whole island to see you dead,” Monadalkni said conversationally. 

In the background Bon continued chanting, his clear voice carried across the crater with a strong cadence. Rin’s flames burned brightly at the indirect threat against his Aria. He leapt from the path to the floor of the crater, his secondary sword in hand. When he landed the black stone rocked under his feet and Rin realized that the basalt was floating on a lake of lava.

“Well, well, well,” Monadalkni chuckled, he held out his hand and a jet of lava rose to fill it, hardening into a jagged stone club. “Aren’t I the lucky one. A paladin and a traitor both waltz so sweetly into my trap.” Then Rin was on him. 

A harsh grating sound filled the air, like nails on a chalkboard, as Rin’s sword scraped across Monadalkni’s stone club. Rin pressed the larger demon as hard as he could, never letting up for a moment, determined not to give the volcano god the chance to carry out his threat.

Monadalkni jumped back, the basalt slab they stood on rocked as he landed and Rin staggered. The ash-colored demon swung his club, taking advantage of his much greater reach. Rin brought up his sword just in time, staggering under the force of the blow.

“Down!” Angel shouted and Rin reflexively dove for the ground. A red-tinged wave of power, unlike any Rin had seen before, slammed into Monadalkni. It drove the Volcano God into the basalt with such force that the slab shattered under him. A huge spout of lava shot up at Angel in response while Rin scrambled for semi-solid ground. 

On the rim a wave of water from one of Durov’s familiars met the lava. The water vaporized instantly but cooled the lava leaving behind a solid stone breastwork. 

Monadalkni clawed his way back out of the lava. “You’ll regret that,” he snarled. Oakley shot him in response but when the demon stood, lava sheeting off him, any damage they’d done previously was gone. 

Rin snarled, drawing more deeply on his power, refusing to be intimidated. He knew, as long as he could hear Bon’s voice, he wouldn’t forget his purpose. He darted across the lava field and resumed hacking at Monadalkni, his flame-wrapped sword taking chunks out of the larger demon’s club.

Beneath them the lava began to roil, large pockets of hotter magma rose from the depths of the earth to create swells and rolls. The basalt slabs rose and fell like boats at sea. Rin fell to his knees as the slab he and Monadalkni had been fighting on tipped at thirty-five degree angle. Monadalkni dug his toes into the rock and laughed as Rin scrambled to create fire claws around his free hand.

A bluish wave of power, more what Rin was accustom to seeing from Angel, flew at Monadalkni. Almost absently the volcano god called up a surge of lava to block it, his eyes never left Rin. 

Rin shaped his flames into heavy claws around his feet and charged back into the fight. For several minutes they traded blows, then Monadalkni took a quick step forward and intercepted Rin’s sword as it descended. He caught Rin’s wrist, then before he could recover, Monadalkni backhanded Rin with his club. The jagged surface of the club torn into Rin’s flesh and he heard his ribs snapping like kindling. Rin fell back with a choked gasp of pain. Monadalkni raised his club over Rin, ready cave in his skull. Three bullets struck the demon’s face and chest in quick succession. In the seconds Oakley had bought him, Rin forced himself up, he lunged from his knees and drove his secondary sword hilt deep in Monadalkni’s chest. A spurt of lava erupted from the wound, melting Rin’s sword and coating his hands and arms.

Monadalkni stepped back, breathing heavily, lava still seeping from his injury. “I’m gonna enjoy killing you brat,” he said raising the club again. 

Another of Angel’s red-tinged bolts struck Monadalkni, this time it came in almost flat and drove Volcano god against the far wall of the crater. Several more red bolts followed the first, mercilessly beating Monadalkni into the rock wall. Rin glanced over his shoulder and saw that Angel had descended into the crater as well. The Paladin’s bangs were plastered to his face with sweat even though he was still half-way up the trail and Caliburn’s blade was edged with a deep red. “We have to get him away from the lava!” Angel shouted as he drew his hand down the length of his blade then pounded Monadalkni with another powerful blast.

“I’ll kill you all,” Monadalkni snarled as he levered himself out of the wall. The lava in the crater surged up. Rin glanced back, for a moment the look on Angel’s face was simple disbelief as the molten rock began to erupt around him, then his expression shifted to something that frightened Rin. “No!” the younger knight shouted and his flames filled the cauldron, burning the lava away as it rose.

Monadalkni ripped himself free. “You won’t escape me brat! Not even with the flames you stole from your father.” 

For a moment Rin heard Bon, still chanting. He broke his hands free of the hardened lava and, ignoring his screaming ribs and the blood dripping down his side, Rin drew Kurikara. He wasn’t sure how the demon sword would hold up against the molten inferno raging inside Monadalkni’s body, but there wasn’t any other choice.

Monadalkni stopped moving, life left his eyes. For a moment the only sound was Bon’s voice as the volcano god’s body crumbled to ash. Bon’s chant slowly tapered off into silence. With Monadalkni gone the lava in the crater settled back into quiescence. “We did it!” Rin exclaimed then winced.

Slowly, cradling his ribs, Rin made his way to the edge of the crater and began the ascent. He caught up to Angel before they reached the rim. Blood dripped from Angel’s hands and coated Caliburn’s blade as the Paladin climbed unsteadily up the trail using his sword as a crutch. 

“Do you want help?” Rin asked, wondering if his ribs could stand it if he tried.

“No,” Angel said sounding winded.

“You’re bleeding, more than a little,” Rin pointed out.

“Still?” Angel asked. He blinked at his hands in surprise. 

“You cut deep this time.” Caliburn gave a pleased hum. “You were thinking about going all the way my Angel, put my blade against your thigh… Then the flames came and you changed your mind,” the sword pouted.

Angel ignored his sword and pulled a roll of bandages out of one of his pockets. He started wrapping his hands with the easy of long practice. 

“Your sword is creepy,” Rin informed Angel.

Angel shrugged, “He’s honest about what he wants from me, unlike certain demons. Monadalkni called you a traitor, according to Zi’s report the dragon said the same.”

Rin scowled. “I am not! Satan killed my dad. Assiah is my home. I don’t owe Gehenna anything just ‘cause Satan tricked my mom into sleeping with him or something…” Rin looked uncertain for a moment, his questions about the Blue Night and the realization that he didn’t actually know anything about how he’d been conceived bubbled to the surface. Then his expression hardened. “I swore myself to Bon, that’s all that matters. I chose my bonds to Assiah, to my friends and to my dad. Satan’s my enemy!”

“I hadn’t meant to question your loyalty,” Angel said. Then he smiled fondly. “But a very good answer none the less.”

* * *

By the time they returned to Rome Rin’s ribs had begun to knit and the road-rash caused by Monadalkni’s club was almost completely healed. He wondered if his injuries would have healed instantly if he’d turned his flesh to flame and back but without Ucchusma to guide him through the process Rin didn’t dare try.

Angel led them to the administration desk and returned the key to Hawaii. As they turned to leave a senior exorcist stepped out of his office. “Paladin, that bunch in Delphi are making notable headway in convincing regular people that demons are real. The effect of Gaia’s return to Assiah is too strong to be dismissed and then there’s the way they flaunt their association with demons. I’ve heard rumors that you might be called on to deal with them.”

Angel sniffed, “ I assure you that if that were the case, I would know long before you.” He turned to Rin and Bon, “Your friends are an annoyance, but any sort of overt action against them would result in more aggravation than they’re worth... Even if the Grigori is highly suspicious of all those mixed breeds appearing out of no where.”

Bon’s chin rose stubbornly. “After the way the Grigori’s treated Rin, I wouldn’t tell them where to find a restroom. Anyway, we don’t know. Shima just complains about the living conditions and Shiemi-chan worries about making sure the kids get a balanced diet.”

Rin stared at the floor as he nodded.

“Shiemi-chan’s the sweetest person you’re ever going to meet,” Bon continued. “She’s the one dealing with Gaia, that’s enough for me to know they’re not up to anything bad. The Grigori ought to make an effort to stop alienating people who are only trying to do the right thing.”

Durov chuckled. “Not shy about speaking his mind is he?” she remarked approvingly.

Angel grimaced. “Don’t encourage them,” he said. Then turned to Bon and Rin, “The Grigori are your superiors; they are aware of things you are completely ignorant of. You should respect their judgement.”

Bon snorted. “And I’m aware of stuff they choose to be blind to. I’ll respect their judgement when they show me that they’re worthy of respect. I’m responsible for the future of the Myo-o-dhari, it’s on me to choose a good direction for my people, I can’t follow just anyone.”

“And you choose to put your faith in Mephisto Pheles?” Angel questioned.

“As far as I know our interests coincide,” Bon replied. “I trust Mephisto to turn whatever tools come into his hands to his goals. I trust him to make decisions that effectively further his goals. The way the Grigori’s approached Rin is wrong. It’s rooted in fear. They’re afraid of him, so they try to control him through fear. They’ve never tried to get to know him or to understand where he’s coming from.”

“They sent me,” Angel pointed out. “They’ll listen to me. As for Sir Pheles... You never really know what his intentions are.” Then he sighed, “Even so, I will be making yet another attempt to get a straight answer from that old demon as soon as we return.”

Bon looked troubled all the way back to the Academy.

* * *

True to his word, Angel headed directly to Mephisto’s office once they were back in Japan. “Twice now Okumura has been specifically targeted by other demons,” he accused. “Monadalkni considered him a more important than even myself.” 

“What did you expect?” Mephisto replied lightly. “Rin-kun wears his treason like crown. To demonic eyes it is as plain as the nose on his face that he is of the Flame Kingdom. His bond to Surguro; it’s strength and purity of intent; gleams like a gem, proclaiming his allegiance to Assiah. Any demon who is true to Iblis will want to kill him on sight.” 

“You didn’t think, perhaps, that you should warn me of this before I allowed him to tag-along when my team went to exorcise a Grand Duke of the Flame Kingdom, a demon who could lay claim to being a god?” Angel demanded sarcastically.

“I suppose I could make Rin-kun’s father aware of the situation,” Mephisto said thoughtfully. Without acknowledging Angel’s alarmed expression he continued on. “Rin-kun is the sole inheritor of the blue flame, there is no question that he will grow into a very powerful demon of the Flame Kingdom. He holds beliefs quite contrary to Iblis’; Rin-kun has shown that he would not protest being asked to serve mankind. I would imagine that Iblis, fearing competition, is hoping that one of his subordinates will kill Rin-kun while he is still new to his power. Although I would be highly surprised if the Flame King had the temerity to actually order such a thing. Satan undoubtedly has his own plans concerning our Rin.”

“You are not to draw Satan’s attention to Okumura!” Angel ordered angrily.

“If that is your wish, I shall abide by it,” Mephisto replied meekly. Then he smiled and added, “Of course, one of your ongoing responsibilities is the investigation of the murders of familiars from the Flame Kingdom committed by their kinsmen. It has been taking up a considerable portion of your time lately, has it not? If you try to shield Rin-kun from his kin changes are you will fail to provide either him or Suguro-kun with adequate field experience before the next Exorcist Exam is due.” 

“What nefariousness are you up to?” Angel exploded. “Is it your goal to keep him in perpetual danger?”

“Say, more kindly, that I trust in your ability to get him back out in one piece,” Mephisto replied looking up at Angel over his steepled fingers.

Angel glowered for a moment. “I despise you,” he declared. “What do you want? What does this accomplish?”

Mephisto grinned toothily, enjoying Angel’s aggravation. Then he suddenly became serious. “Your investigation is too narrow in it’s scope. How many new contracts have exorcists made with the Flame Kingdom in the last five years? The last ten? How many Tamers with Flame affinity have been killed? Outside of the Myodha how many of their familiars are left?” he demanded. 

“The Kingdom of Flame is moving against Assiah,” Angel concluded.

“Iblis is purging his kingdom of dissidents, and moderates as well,” Mephisto corrected. “However, if Iblis’ undesirables had a banner to rally around… Rin-kun cannot deny what he is: The inheritor of the Blue Flame, the human-reared Prince of Hell. Hiding from Gehenna will not serve him any longer. Shiro protected him to the best of his ability but Rin-kun cannot remain a child forever.” 

Mephisto sighed, fondness softened his expression. “Shiro loved him far too much to accept what Rin-kun was fated to grow into. Now that he has come into his powers and until the sun grows cold, Okumura Rin will stand between worlds that have been at war since time immemorable; distrusted and targeted by both sides. Human blood fades but, once nurtured, the human spirit does not.” 

“Do your duty, Paladin Arthur Auguste Angel. Take him with you as you investigate the unrest within the Kingdom of Flame, let him be seen by his kin. Give them their rally point and let Iblis’ purge turn to civil war. Rin doesn’t even have to know, yet.”


	10. Jealous Worries

Amaimon nudged the hobgoblin he was using as a pillow in an effort to get comfortable on one of the cots set up in the infant area of the Apollo temple. He’d almost managed to fall asleep when a soft snuffling sound of unhappiness whispered through the room. The Earth King made a face and started to roll to his feet but saw that Shiemi was already heading toward the crib. He closed his eyes and listened to her murmuring the baby as she headed toward the row of prepared bottles and a small, carefully regulated, lukewarm spring that had been encouraged to bubble up in a the corner of the room.

About the time Shiemi settled into a rocking chair with bottle and baby a second infant started whimpering. Amaimon sighed and got up. “Hush, I hear you,” he said quietly, leaning over the crib. “Don’t wake all your cousins, there’s only four of us big people on duty.” Amaimon wrinkled his nose as he picked the infant up. “Mine smells,” he complained to Shiemi carrying the child at arm’s length.

Shiemi giggled. “You know what to do,” she reminded him.

Amaimon scowled, but headed over to the changing table. Standing as far back as possible he removed the safety pin on baby’s the diaper and gingerly unwrapped the child. “Uggh!” he exclaimed, being careful to keep his voice low. He wrinkled up his face in a parody of disgust and held his breath as he used the edge of the diaper to wipe away the worst of the mess. Once the child was clean and the dirty diaper was safely sealed in an odor-tight hamper Amaimon grabbed a fresh cloth. “You will learn to use a restroom quickly,” Amaimon informed the child sternly. “I’m your king and it is beneath my station to deal with all this shit you insist on producing.” 

Shiemi ducked her head and bit her lip to keep from laughing too loudly at Amaimon’s declaration. 

“I can’t believe I was ever curious about human waste elimination,” Amaimon informed her. “It’s revolting.”

Seeing that the first baby had finished his bottle and fallen back asleep Shiemi returned him to his crib and filled a second bottle with lukewarm water from the spring then shook it up and handed it to Amaimon. “Thank goodness Nishiki’s volunteers thought to bring bottles and lots of formula,” she said.

Amaimon perched on the window ledge and offered the baby her bottle. “Its’ almost dawn,” he observed happily. “Almost time for someone else’s turn to change diapers.” 

“I should head to the gardens before too many of our… neighbors wake-up,” Shiemi sighed. 

Amaimon grimaced. “You are the Oracle of Delphi, Mother’s vessel on Assiah, you shouldn’t hide from a bunch of humans.” He smirked. “It’s fitting that they want to worship you, but they need to learn to do so from a distance. If they pester you tie them up with stinging nettles or something until they learn better.” 

“They don’t mean any harm,” Shiemi protested. “And they shouldn’t worship me. I’m not Gaia, I’m just me.”

“You’re the one who intercedes with Gaia,” Amaimon disagreed. “Normally gods of her stature, of Middle Gehenna, only concern themselves with the destruction and recreation of Assiah. But Mother stayed her hand because of you.”

“Middle Gehenna?” Shiemi asked. 

Amaimon gave a small huff, as if he couldn’t believe Shiemi’s ignorance. “The lesser gods and demons, the young and the weak, are the ones to interact with Assiah, it’s stage for us to learn on, with humans as our game pieces and score counters…” He trailed off for a moment, “Big brother punished me when I called humans soap bubbles. He says humans are more than that. Even though you live such short little lives, hardly more than mayflies, he says you’re as real as us. And, of course, you’re my priestess, you matter. You stood up to mother and made her compromise... Still, the other is what most everyone believes.”

“Anyway, the gods of Middle Gehenna are the greater gods, they create Assiah for their children to play with, when one Assiah becomes too damaged or degraded they destroy it and make a new one. Last there’s Outer Gehenna, it shields us all from the Void. When a god grows too powerful for Middle Gehenna they retire to the walls, their bodies become our shelter.”

Shiemi nodded, she remembered Gaia mentioning the Walls.

Amaimon frowned, “Father broke the rules. He’s too powerful, too old, his touch burns Assiah but he won’t leave. Instead he controls things through the Eight Kings.” 

“Only you, Mephisto and Egyn don’t follow him,” Shiemi interjected.

“We’re no more obedient than we have to be,” Amaimon agreed. “And Big Brother has plans, but Father could smash any of us if he wanted to. Or if he was in a good mood he could just order us to submit; he’s our Father it’s hard to disobey him. Egyn talks a lot about how much he hates Father but all he actually does is pick fights with Iblis, Astaroth and I. He’s too chicken to pester our older brothers.” 

Suddenly a thought occurred to Amaimon and he grinned, “With Mom here, Father can’t boss me around!”

“Would Egyn be the same?” Shiemi asked. “Even though Gaia isn’t his mom?”

Amaimon pouted at Shiemi’s interest in Egyn but he still considered her question. “I’m balanced between Gaia and Satan, they have equal claim to me and they disagree a lot. It was always harder for Father to make Egyn and I submit than to make Iblis or Astaroth, because they moms are simpering idiots and ours aren’t. Mom being around wouldn’t affect Egyn directly because he doesn’t owe her any loyalty... that might be why Egyn’s courting Mom.”

Shiemi looked thoughtful, “Sir Pheles would probably like us to be friendly with Egyn.”

“He’s a bastard!” Amaimon protested loudly which started the child he was feeding crying. “Don’t make that noise,” he ordered in a whisper as he held the bottle enticingly. After a moment the child picked suckling over crying to Amaimon’s relief. He looked back to Shiemi, “You don’t have to make any oaths with Egyn. Father won’t challenge Mom in her own territory.”

“What about the other four kings?” Shiemi asked. “Could Satan force Mephisto to submit to him?”

“If they ever fought straight out, Father would smush Big Brother,” Amaimon said matter-of-a-factly. “But he can’t make Samuel submit, not even a little. I don’t know why. It’s probably not because of his mother; Lucifer does everything he can to impress Father… But then maybe that’s just Lucifer being a suck-up.”

Michelle showed up followed by Mamushi and several other volunteers. “Time to start baths,” Michelle said.

“Good morning, have fun,” Shiemi said as she headed out to her gardens. 

Amaimon grunted a disinterested greeting and left to check that the changes he’d made to area’s the geothermal activity were stable. 

His first stop was the bathhouse. As he walked down the stairs he heard Obizu’s voice. Without a second thought, Amaimon shifted to his hamster form and crept closer, using the crack under the door to spy on the Duchess of Water.

Obizu was leaning over the bath and trying to shove a large chest into the water. “I am not giving Shiemi-san a box full of pearls and gems,” she declared. “Lord Egyn, you sent me here because I, quote, talk girl, so you will listen to me!”

“Stop being such an old killjoy. All girls like jewels,” Egyn argued from the depths of the bathwater. “Shows I can provide for her much better than the Earth-brat.”

Amaimon ground his teeth together.

“It’s too much you big oaf!” Obizu insisted sternly. “This early in the courtship overly expensive gifts will just make her uncomfortable.”

“I know where every last doubloon of sunken treasure lies. At my whim oysters produce pearls,” Egyn declared. “It is nothing to me to give her such riches.”

Obizu groaned in frustration, “Exactly, it means nothing to you and to her it will look like you’re being pushy again. Give her meaningful presents. She liked the fish for the children.” 

“I want to give the lovely and kind Shiemi something for herself,” Egyn sulked.

“Then give her flowers,” Obizu suggested. “Or maybe a nice living coral arrangement. Show her that the world beneath the waves can be as beautiful as the gardens she tends so lovingly. Put some thought into it my lord, don’t just throw treasure at her.”

The resistance on the other side of the chest vanished abruptly and Obizu fell face first into the bath. She stood up and shook herself off with a grin. “So now you’re ready to listen to me?”

Amaimon slipped away, resolving to search Obizu’s room later for anything Egyn might send to tempt HIS priestess away; in his hamster form the thought of chewing Egyn’s gift up had great appeal. Once he was halfway up the stairs Amaimon popped back to his normal form. ‘And maybe I’ll just take Obizu’s advice for myself if Bastard-ni’s too dumb to listen,’ he thought.

‘I’m already doing everything I can to help with the squirts and the camp but I suppose that doesn’t count. They’re my subjects, my nieces and nephews, after all. I could make Shiemi some nice clay planters. She liked having plants share her rooms at Big Brother’s school.”

Amaimon was still considering the merits of the notion when Meda ran up and tugged on his arm. Holding up her rag-doll she announced, “Young Roger came tapping at Dolly’s window. Thumpaty, thumpaty, thump! He asked for admittance, she answered ‘No!’ Frumpaty, frumpaty, frump! ‘No, no Roger, no! As you came you may go! Stumpaty, stumpaty, stump!”

Amaimon frowned at her thoughtfully. “You’re right,” he said. “Shiemi’s smarter than to be swayed by that watery bastard’s stupid presents.”

Meda shrieked and stomped her foot. “There were once two cats of Kilkenny! Each thought there was one cat too many; so they fought and they fit and they scratched and they bit. Till, excepting their nails and the tips of their tails, instead of two cats, there weren’t any!” She scowled up at Amaimon. “Young Roger... “ Her voice caught for a moment then her face screwed up with effort and she spat, “Young demoneater came tapping! Some aren’t as smart as Dolly.” Throwing one last disgusted look over her shoulder, she stomped off.

Amaion stared after her for a few moments then he shrugged and turned in the other direction.

“If you won’t let me, I’ll beg Gaia,” Amaimon heard one of the former La Llorona, he thought her name was Sofia, declare.

“You’ll only be wasting her time,” Echidna replied. “You can’t leave.”

“I’m not staying here to raise my baby in the middle of a target!” Sofia exclaimed. “I’m taking him somewhere safe, somewhere we can hide. Gaia has to understand. I can’t stay here where everyone hates us!”

“You murdered your last child,” Echidna said coldly. “You won’t go off on your own with this one.”

“I killed myself in penance, I was a La Llorona for a hundred years, I have atoned!” Sofia protested.

Echidna shook her head. “You were forgiven and given a second chance, you can never make up for what you did.”

Amaimon stepped aside as a sobbing girl ran past. “You made her cry,” he observed to his older sister.

Echidna sighed, “I told her the truth.”

“Shiemi would have been nicer.” 

A reluctant smile touched Echidna’s face. “Does my baby brother have a crush?”

“I’m your king,” Amaimon sulked.

Echidna tried to work up the motivation to tease Amaimon about how he might be the Earth King but he was still her baby brother, but what came out instead was a sigh. “I’m tired,” she told him. “My daughters aren’t my daughters, their nascent personalities were smothered when the La Llorona merged with them. We live in a siege state, surrounded by humans who would kill us or torture us rather than worship us as they should.”

“We’re working on it,” Amaimon tried to offer comfort. 

“I’m tired, I wish for rest,” Echidna said. “But my power doesn’t grow as your does. I would have to survive several dozen Assiah’s before my strength would match yours and you’re only a few centuries past five thousand. It’s likely that I’ll fall in one ragnarok or another long before I grow powerful enough to be called to the Walls. I’ll fall and leave my bones to become the foundation of a future Assiah, hopefully a better one.”

“This is my Assiah,” Amaimon rumbled. “And I like it.”

“Your Shiemi is a sweet child,” Echinda sighed. “But I almost wish that she hadn’t dissuaded Mother from destroying this hateful world and built a new one where humans on the whole would be humble, respectful and… and not so terribly numerous.”

“They’re not so bad, most of them,” Amaimon argued awkwardly. “Big brother likes them.”

“I don’t,” Echidna said. They stared at each other for a few moments, knowing that they couldn’t come to agreement. 

“I have stuff to do,” Amaimon muttered and left. 

He started toward Shiemi’s gardens wondering if she wanted some help, but Renzo headed him off. “I’ve got a new email about our power problems,” the pink haired boy said steering Amaimon into the generator’s building. “They said we’re still not getting enough steam pressure. We’re turning the turbine, but not fast enough.”

Amaimon scowled, “I’ve cracked the Earth’s mantle to the core. If I open it any further it will be an eruption instead of a steam vent.” He leaned around the lazily turning turbine and stuck his head into the vent, ignoring the scalding heat. “Shouldn’t have any trouble boiling water in here,” 

Obizu joined them, curiously she leaned over Amaimon’s shoulder. “Plenty of heat,” she agreed. “Not enough water. The volume of steam should be higher.”

“Who asked you?” Amaimon snapped.

“We’ve tried all our ideas,” Renzo pointed out. “Might as well give hers a try. I mean it won’t blow up or anything if you open up the passage from the spring a little, right? We’re not short on water.”

“I could do it,” Obizu offered. She grinned at Amaimon. “If it’s too much trouble for the Earth King to increase the passage, I could ask the spring to flow more quickly.”

“I can do it,” Amaimon said quickly as he stepped away from the vent. “I just don’t get why you think her idea will work.” He gave Renzo a suspicious look. “Unless this is one of those flirting things.” He grinned unpleasantly. “Fine, I’ll do it… then I’ll tell Shiemi you wanted me to.”

Renzo rolled his eyes. “First, I’m not anywhere near that subtle when I flirt. Second, Shiemi-chan knows me not to care if I was flirting with her. Not that I was, all I want is to figure out if Blue-belle here had a good idea or not.”

Amaimon huffed doubtfully then turned and stretched out his hands. The earth shivered and shifted. A massive plume of steam shot out of the vent. The turbine whined as it’s blades spun blurringly fast. The excess of superheated steam billowed out to filled the room.

Yamantaka burst into Assiah and yanked Renzo out of the room before the steam could broil him alive.

“Too much!” Obizu exclaimed as she reached into the vent. 

Amaimon glared at her angrily as she adjusted the flow until the turbine was humming happily. Then he stomped outside to find Renzo doubled over, leaning on his thighs and panting heavily. He stared at the pink-haired boy for several minutes. “You didn’t summon Yamantaka,” he noted.

“And he didn’t possess you either,” Obizu added.

“Damn, wasn’t ready for that,” Renzo muttered to himself as he blinked black spots out of his vision. 

“If Yamantaka’s not your familiar, what is he to you?” Amaimon demanded.

“He’s my familiar,” Renzo said.

“Familiars don’t just show up unsummoned,” Obizu remarked.

“Izumo’s do,” Renzo argued. “What’s with the twenty questions?”

“In places sanctified to Inari, maybe,” Amaimon allowed. “But this place is Gaia’s hallowed ground, not a flame demon’s.” He thought for several moments, “Mike and Uke might be able to come if their priestess’ life was in danger.”

“My life was in danger,” Renzo said. “Maybe you two don’t care about getting steam cooked, but I do.”

“It’s in their contract to protect Inari’s priestess,” Amaimon remarked. “What binds Yamantaka to you?”

“I don’t see it’s any business of yours,” Renzo said drawing himself up indignantly and stalking away. 

Once he was alone Renzo leaned back against a nearby wall tiredly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the faintest shimer of black flames. “Thanks for the save,” he said to Yamantaka. “You’re not going to get in trouble with Iblis? I mean saving my bacon from a stupid accident isn’t quite the same as me giving you permission to fight Exorcists or screw up Egyn’s plans.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Yamantaka replied in a dry whispery voice. “It was a Duchess of Water who instigated the accident, it might have been a plot to inconvenience Gaia. Iblis doesn’t loath the Earth Kingdom the way he does the Water Kingdom. Of course, he still remains unaware that Amaimon has sworn his love and honor to a human girl.”

“Yeah, that’d hit King Cranky-pants’ hot buttons,” Renzo agree. “It might even be enough to cost Egyn his least favorite brother status, even with his whole, ‘I hate my dad. Here have some holy water’ thing.” The pink haired boy gave a self-deprecating grin, “I’d probably like Egyn if he hadn’t made Shiemi cry. But anyway, that’s why I was worrying. I know Iblis is not going to be cool with you going around saving human lives.”

“Maybe not, but you’re a special case,” Yamantaka said. “The payment made against your life hasn’t been fully spent yet.”

“Takezo,” Renzo said with a touch of bitterness. “So even Iblis agrees that me for Take was a bad trade for mankind.”

The flames fluttered a bit as if Yamantaka had shrugged. “Takezo sacrificed his life to give me more power in Assiah; Iblis likes those kinds of deals, even if I did promise to protect your life in return. And so, as long as even a spark of Takezo’s life-force remains I will protect you.”

“Takezo must have been pretty amazing,” Renzo sighed. “You’ve saved my life three or four times now and haven’t repaid him. Almost makes me wish I remembered him more… Or I suppose my life just isn’t worth much to anyone.”

“It doesn’t take much to save you from hot water,” Yamantaka temporized. “Just the energy it took to come unsummoned. Besides I like having you around, not many humans bother themselves to learn about Gehenna’s internal politics.”

Renzo managed a small smile, “Thanks.”


	11. Gehenna Statecraft

One month and several missions after the battle against Monadalkni Rin found himself back in Kyoto along with Angel and Bon. 

Shima Yaozo led them up the mountain, past the old Myodha temple grounds. “Since the attack we’ve been keeping our familiars in Assiah,” Yaozo explained to Angel as he walked. “Ucchusma and Karura helped our Arias set up a permanent barrier to keep the salamanders in and hikers out. There were several old charcoal kilns on the mountain that we refurbished, our tamers have been keeping them fired up so the salamander can restore themselves without returning to Gehenna. It’s been working out very well.”

“I don’t actually care about how you’ve been skirting the Vatican’s guidelines regarding familiars,” Angel stated. “Tell me about the attack.”

Rin, Bon and Kinzo trailed behind the older Exorcists. As they approached the barrier Kinzo shifted closer to Bon, “Do you know what’s going on with Ren?” he asked quietly, worriedly. “Juu-ni just says he’s upset and confused and he’ll come home once he calms down.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Bon replied while Rin started walking slower still, trying not to intrude. “Renzo’s not a kid throwing a tantrum. He and Shiemi-chan are doing something important, something he cares about. We talk enough that I know how hard he’s working at getting Delphi fixed up proper for the kids. It’s not what you expected him to do, but it’s still worthwhile and until you guys recognize that, well, chances are he’s not going to ‘calm down’. And even if he does, don’t count on him coming home. Still, I figure he’ll patch things up with you guys once you stop trying to tell him who he’s supposed to be.” 

Up front Yaozo directed Angel’s attention to a seared patch of ground. The fire damage cut off abruptly where it encountered the barrier, but shield itself bore visible scorch marks even though it had no physical presence. “No one actually saw it and it didn’t get through the warded barrier,” he said. Angel knelt to get a closer look at the damage. 

Out of the corner of his eye Rin caught a hint of movement. He twisted around, drawing his secondary sword, just as a burning length of chain whipped out to wrap around his blade and neck. Rin’s quick reflexes saved him from being garroted, but he was yanked off his feet and sent tumbling toward a shadowy cleft; dragging him away from the other four Exorcists. 

In a single movement Angel drew Caliburn and cast a fast attack into the shadows from which the chain emerged. “Show yourself!” he demanded.

Rin used the moment of Angel’s attack to shrug free of the chain. He grabbed for the chain to drag his attacker into the light but it was drawn back before he could lay hold of it. 

An unremarkable looking man with dark grey hair stepped out of the shadows casually spinning the chain, which was attached to a crude hand-scythe, about himself. “I wasn’t planning to spend much time on this,” he said and the chain flashed forward.

Rin stepped into the attack, intercepting it with his wakizashi. The chain wrapped around his arm several times, the links biting into his flesh. The man lunged forward, driving the scythe toward Rin’s skull. Rin blocked the weapon as it descended, his flames rising. The man abort his attack and leapt back, pulling the chain around Rin’s arm taunt. For a moment they were caught in a game of tug-of-war. The bones in Rin’s forearm groaned in protest as the chain tightened, his shoulder joint was on the verge of being pulled from the socket. 

“Kinzo, get Ryuji in the barrier,” Yaozo ordered as he hefted his staff. Angel sliced through the chain binding Rin and Rin quickly shrugged free of it. He fell in beside his teacher. 

The fallen chain slithered back to the man as if it were a living thing, the broken linking welding themselves back together. “You’re going insist on being troublesome,” the man sighed as Yaozo joined Rin and Angel. He resumed spinning his chain. Flames began to dance in his eyes. Suddenly, there were four chains spinning over the man’s head. 

“You could withdraw, Avnas is it not?” Angel suggested. He watched the spinning chains warily and jumped aside a moment before one smashed into the ground where he’s been standing in a great cloud of sparks and steam. 

“Avnas I am,” the man said, graciously inclining his head. “Not that it will help your Arias to know that.” He sighed again, “I would withdraw, in fact I wouldn’t have bothered to come in the first place, but explaining why the brat’s not dead is more troublesome yet.” 

“Okumura, pull back,” Angel said quietly. 

Rin shook his head, “I’m a knight, there’s I can do hiding behind a shield.”

Avnas smirked and Rin was dodging strike after strike. The ground exploded around him everywhere the chain touched. Yaozo and Angel both attacked, trying to take advantage of Avnas’ focus on Rin. Even as they attacked more chains formed and kept them at bay. 

‘Love the way he just stands there,’ Bon thought as he drew his gun and carefully aimed. He kept chanting, hoping Avnas had discounted him, not wanting to draw attention to his change in tactics. The bullet exploded the moment it entered the sphere defined by Avnas’ chains. 

As the fight continued the explosions increased in ferocity and the chains continued to multiply. Yaozo dropped back until he was just outside of the barrier. 

Rin switched swords. With his flames raging around him, he disregarded the explosions and charged Avnas. He ducked one burning chain, two more were knocked away by blasts from Angel’s sword. Rin engaged the scythe with his wakizashi and brought Kurikara up to gut Avnas. Then everything around him exploded. To Rin’s shock the flames burned, superheated shrapnel struck him, ripping through flesh and clothes. 

Bon and Kinzo extended the barrier quickly enough to protect Yaozo. 

Angel drove Caliburn into the ground and shielded himself behind the sword. A flying stone nicked the paladin’s forehead. He leaned against Caliburn’s blade, letting the sword absorb his blood before it could be wasted. 

Avnas stood, untouched at the heart of the inferno. 

Angel grabbed Rin’s shoulder and threw him toward the barrier. The Paladin loosed a red-tinged blast at Avnas to cover his own retreat. Avnas gave a put upon sighed at seeing all five of them behind the shimmering shield. “Delaying the inevitable only annoys me,” he said as he walked up to the barrier. His chains flayed it repeatedly. 

“Reinforce it, make it one way if you can,” Angel ordered. 

“Follow my lead,” Yaozo told the two younger Aria. He started a modified barrier spell, Bon and Kinzo echoed him a moment later. “Go ahead,” Yaozo nodded to Angel but it was Rin who responded first. Rin swung Kurikara in a sharp short arc, a swell of flames ran down the length of the blade and broke free, flying from the blade to strike Avnas. The flame demon grunted at the impact but didn’t let up his attack.

“What sort of monster is he?” Kinzo asked remembering those same flames consuming the Impure King.

“Avnas, Grand Duke of Flames, second only to Iblis in the Kingdom of Flame,” Angel said. 

A slow smile crossed Avnas’ face to hear himself identified as such, he spared a moment from his attack on them to sketch a small bow. 

Angel responded by sliding his hand down Caliburn’s length, wetting the blade with blood. Avnas swung several of his chains to block. Rin, his flames intensifying as the battle continued, sent a second attack after Angel’s. The two of them quickly fell into a rhythm, pounding Avnas with attack after attack. Bon bit his thumb and summoned Karura to aid them. Together, Angel, Rin and Karura forced Avnas on the defensive, even so they weren’t doing any damage. 

After fifteen minutes, Angel was pale from blood loss, but the delay was enough. Ucchusma arrived along with a number of Salamanders and their Myodha tamers. 

Avnas looked at the forces arrayed against him and grimaced. “Okay, you’ve made yourself more trouble than you’re worth. Catch you later brat,” he said and disappeared. 

Rin flexed his hand gingerly, the bruises left from Avnas’ chain were already darkening long spirals up and down his arm. 

“You may want to talk to Archknights Durov and Wang about improving your barriers,” Angel said to Yaozo. The left sleeve of his coat was more red than white. Angel returned Caliburn to his sheet and started down the hill. He made it fifteen feet before collapsing.

* * *

The next day Rin hovered over a rich stew simmering on the stove in the Old Dorm’s kitchen while Izumo divided her time between giving Bon narrow-eyed looks and slicing bread. When Rin went to lift the heavy pot off the burner Izumo exclaimed, “Put that down! Your arm is still hurt.” She glared pointedly at Bon. “Someone else should get it.”

“What did I do to get you in such a snit?” Bon demanded as he went to help. 

“Don’t drop it!” Rin exclaimed, hovering nervously as Bon moved pot to the table. 

Izumo continued to glare at Bon, “Why do you think? Rin got hurt because of you… Again. Half the missions you go on, Rin comes back hurt.”

“He doesn’t get hurt that often!” Bon protested as Rin said, “It’s just a little fracture. Normal knight stuff.”

Once the pot reached the table without incident Rin started ladeling a healthy portion of the stew into a thermos while Bon opened the kitchen door and shouted, “Dinner’s on! We’ll eat without you before we let it get cold!”

“Who are you making takeaway for?” Izumo inquired.

“Angel,” Rin said. “Meaty stuff is supposed to be good for blood loss. My wrist will have healed before he’s over being anemic. Don’t fight with Bon. I’m a knight, getting banged up a little is part of the deal.” 

The first year Exwires charged down the stairs. “You’re a life-saver,” Godain declared. “Miwa-senpai’’s study sessions are brutal.” 

Konekomaru and Paku arrived behind the first years just in time to overhear Godain’s comment. Konekomaru looked pleased with himself. “Mephisto is going to have to come up with a new post-first Exorcist Exam speech if I have anything to say about it,” he declared.

“Demon classification?” Bon asked.

Konekomaru nodded, “They are going to pass that section… One way or another.”

While they talked everyone grabbed plates and glasses and quickly set the table.

“Speaking of the Exam,” Ito said. “Suguro-senpai, can I borrow your gun? I want to be a dragoon, I ought to have at least fired a gun once before the Exam.”

“Stick to your sling-shot. They’re not going to let you have a firearm in the Exam anyway,” Bon pointed out. “They’ll use the Exam to decide if you’re responsible enough to have a gun… And knowing you, I’d vote no.”

“I can’t believe you’re seriously putting Dragoon as your primary meister Ito,” Ueno said shaking her head. “Sadao-kun and I are both testing for it, but only because you can work on your Doctor and Dragoon at the same time.”

“Don’t be mean you guys,” Rin remarked. “Dragoons can be pretty cool. My little brother got a lot more use out of his Dragoon Meister than his Doctor.”

Izumo, Bon and Konekomaru all tensed at the mention of Yukio.

“Your younger brother has two meisters already?” Maki asked disbelievingly. 

“Well, younger twin,” Rin clarified. 

“Rin only started cram school the April before last,” Izumo said defensively. “Okumura Yukio started studying when he was seven and got his first meister when he was fourteen. He’s not that great.”

Rin grimaced at Izumo’s tone and quickly dropped the subject. “Maki, have you decided which weapon you’re going to specialize in? They do let knight-hopefuls have a real weapon in the practical section of the test.”

“I’m thinking a mace,” Maki replied. He smiled like a kid thinking of christmas, “One with lots of spikes.”

Mana glanced shyly toward Bon and Konekomaru, “Do you guys think I’ve got any chance as an Aria?” she asked. “I know you two started studying long before you started the Academy and I didn’t even know demons existed until just last year.”

“You’ll do fine,” Konekomaru said. “You have excellent elocution and a strong memory.” 

“How are you and Yips doing?” Izumo asked Godain.

“He’s great,” Godain said. “There were some shironeri in the cleaning closet at class, Yips chased them off without even being asked.”

“Nagatomo and Tsuzo aren’t here yet, shouldn’t we wait for them?” Rin asked. 

“There’s a faculty meeting for the Cram School tonight,” Bon said. “They’ll probably eat with the other instructors.”

Everyone settled into their meal. 

After several minutes Godain glanced uncertainly at Rin. “Rin-kun, um, I know you don’t really have a homeroom, because your apprenticeship makes your schedule weird. But for the Fall Festival, I, well, I sort of claimed you for our class. You have most of your classes with us… You don’t mind do you?”

“Doesn’t the class mind being stuck with me?” Rin worried. 

“Not in the least,” Paku giggled. “You’ve missed out on all the fun, being gone with Paladin Angel all the time. You see, they’re doing a food booth... and so is the class you take English with. During our planning meetings the Class Reps practically got in a fight over who gets you. Then Sir Pheles got involved, he was talking about an obstacle course and you know him; it totally would have gotten out of hand. The staff representative on the Festival Committee intervened and they ended up having a spelling bee between the two classes while you and Bon were gone last week. Godain-kun was the best speller so his class gets you.” 

“Really?” Rin asked, eyes wide.

“We had a preliminary meeting and you’re basically in charge of the booth,” Godain shrugged. “As long as you aren’t too busy?”

“No!” Rin exclaimed excitedly. “Do we have a theme? I can definitely make a menu around whatever theme we come up with. We decorate the booth and do up menus to match, maybe have costumes if people don’t mind… They really wanted me involved?”

Suzuki glanced up from his meal with a disgusted expression, “I can’t stand you but I don’t turn down your food,” he pointed out. “Stop looking for reassurances; they’re running a food booth and you’re practically a professional chef, of course they want you. Whichever class gets you is pretty much guaranteed to make the most money-” Suzuki broke off abruptly and from Ueno’s expression the others guessed that she’d kicked him under the table.

Godain caught Rin’s shoulder and subtly turned him away from Suzuki, “I think having a theme is a good idea, decorating the booth and coming up with costumes will get more of the class involved. I already talked to Itamae-san and the class; Itamae-san said you can take off from your apprenticeship early until the festival is over, that way you can take lunch with our class and we’ll hold our planning meetings while we eat.” 

“So is everyone going to the concert?” Maki remarked. “Rules are students only and you’ve got to come with a date, which is just another way for the headmaster to stir up drama.”

Godain glanced questioningly at Mana, she smiled shyly and nodded. 

“Sadao-kun is going with me,” Ueno stated. 

Suzuki grinned. “Michi-chan is the jealous type.” he said.

“I’m your babysitter,” Ueno responded promptly. “You get in trouble every time I take my eyes off you.”

“And we all know Kamiki-san and Rin-kun are together. Shiemi-chan and Aiko-chan both left school taking their loveliness with them,” Ito sighed. “That just leaves Noriko-chan for the rest of us to fight over.”

“Oh I have my own thoughts on that subject,” Paku replied. 

“Who’s the lucky guy?” Ito teased. 

“You’ll see,” Paku replied mysteriously.

* * *

After dinner Rin took his thermos and slipped out of the dorm. He crossed the darkened campus heading for the small apartment Angel kept just off the True Cross Academy grounds. Rin scanned the names on the mailboxes to find Angel’s room then headed up the stairs and knocked tentatively on the older knight’s door.

“Come in,” Angel called then blinked tiredly at Rin. “You aren’t Zi… Tereza and Ms. Annie lack sufficient manners to knock before letting themselves in.” The Paladin still looked pale, his coat was off and his left arm was wrapped in bandages from wrist to elbow, but he looked better than he had the last time Rin had seen him. Caliburn leaned against the wall, close to hand.

Rin held up the thermos. “I brought beef stew,” he said. “It’s supposed to be good for blood loss.” 

“Thank you,” Angel said gravely accepting Rin’s offering.

Rin scuffed his foot against the floor. “I’m trying not to be reckless,” he said. “You’re using Caliburn too much because I get us in trouble aren’t you?”

“It’s hardly your fault Flame Demons persist in focusing their attacks on you,” Angel said dismissively.

“We were just discussing new tactics,” Lightening added and Rin jumped, not having noticed the Archknight’s presence. 

“You might as well sit,” Angel said to Rin. “Saves me relaying whatever we figure out later.” 

Rin glanced around uncertainly then hesitantly took the armchair opposite Lightning. 

“Alright, let’s summarize,” Lightning said leaning back in his chair. “Since spring we’ve been investigating infighting in the Flame Kingdom and, at best, we’ve been one step behind. Running around trying to figure out why Flame demons are killing each other and steadily losing familiars and demons who were contracted to provide us with Blessed Ashes.”

“We would have figured it out if Pheles had told us what he knew earlier,” Angel grumbled.

Lightning ignored him. “Seems things have been going on for longer than we realized, for generations Iblis has been hunting down Exorcist bloodlines with Flame Affinity and eradicating them…” Lightning trailed off for a moment. “According to the True Cross, God made a pact with mankind giving Assiah holy water, blessed ashes, sacred soil and venerated relics to use as defenses against incursions by Gehenna. The pact carried such weight that as the Kingdom of God split into factions and eventually became the Eight Kingdoms we know today God’s sacred word was inherited by those that came after him, even by the demons we fight today. That oath still binds them to provide Assiah with the tools to fight Gehenna. It seems Iblis is out to break the part of that oath which was inherited by his kingdom.”

“But demons can’t just go around breaking their oaths,” Rin pointed out. 

“They can if there’s no one alive for the Oath to lay claim to,” Lightning said bluntly. “We didn’t notice as the number of Fire Tamers dwindled. The Myodha plague that began around twenty years ago and was ended by Fujimoto Shiro may suggest that Iblis went so far as to treat with the Kingdom of Decay to try to eliminate a strong hold of humans with Flame affinity. We didn’t notice as contact was lost with the more friendly fire gods: Perun, Helios, Agni, Brigid, even Chantico. It was only last spring, when Iblis escalated his efforts to purge his kingdom of any demons who are allies of Assiah, that we took note. And, Okumura-kun, since you swore yourself to the Myodha it seems you’ve earned a fairly high place on Iblis’ hit list.”

“Someone else who thinks I should just die,” Rin sighed. “Is it bad that I’m thinking at least Iblis wants to kill me because of things I did instead of because how I was born?”

Angel looked startled. 

Lightning chuckled, “Fair enough,” he said. “But, as hard as it is to get anyone to admit to making a mistake, there is a chance you can pry their eyes open and make them see you for who you are. You actually earned Iblis’ enmity, the only way you’ll make peace with him is if YOU change. Well, he could change I suppose, but he’s been carrying out calculated warfare against Assiah for hundreds of years; I wouldn’t hold out much hope for him changing his opinion of humans.” 

“I guess,” Rin said reluctantly. “Our last mission was a trap wasn’t it? That Avnas guy could have broken through the barrier if he’d wanted, his first attack was just to get our attention wasn’t it?”

Angel grimaced, “We were lucky that Avnas is a lazy bastard who couldn’t be bothered to think of anything more creative than attacking the Myodha stronghold to draw you out. If we hadn’t had the Myodha barrier right there to retreat to or all of your allies nearby to reinforce us we wouldn’t have survived.” 

“Which is why we need a new approach,” Lightning said. “Okumura-kun, how much do you understand about Gehenna’s ranking system?”

“Um, well… There’s the Eight Kings,” Rin said after a moment. “Amaimon told me told me a little about how they compare to each other.” He grimaced then added, “He said Satan’s a lot stronger than them, but Gaia’s on Satan’s level, right? That’s good news since she likes Shiemi-chan. You guys talk about Dukes and Counts and stuff, they’d be below the Kings. Ucchusma said I was a Prince but I’m only as strong as a Count, um I mean a Viscount. Is that better or worse?”

“Worse, but don’t let it get you down. You’d be a full count in the Spirit Kingdom,” Lightning said consolingly, “since they don’t bother with gradations. And demons in the former Kingdom of Death tend to claim whatever designation appeals to them personally without regard to power. I’ve heard Astaroth tried to force some sort of order on his Kin after the Kingdom of Death split into Time and Rot, but it never really took.” 

“The most commonly used ranks in order of strength are king, duke, marquis, count, baron and knight. That only applies to the strongest demons, most of the ones we see in Assiah aren’t strong enough to hold a rank,” Lightning said. “To give you a frame of reference, a first class exorcist is generally on par with a demon count… Luckily for exorcists, the efficacy of fatal verses doesn’t change as a demon’s power grows. If you know the right words, and the demon hasn’t prepared counter-measures, a king will fall to their fatal verse as easily as the lowest coal tar.”

“Each rank covers a broad range of strengths,” Angel contributed. “Which is why most of the Kingdoms do use gradations. The most commonly used is Grand Duke, indicating a demon whose power begins to approach the power of the weaker kings like Amaimon or Anubis. However demonic power is neither static nor easily predicted once humans get involved. Take Caliburn for example: alone, he is too weak to hold rank as a demon.” Rin got the distinct impression that Caliburn was pouting at Angel. Angel rolled his eyes, “I am making a point,” he told his sword. “However, if I offer him even a minor sacrifice, together we can and have defeated demons ranked as marquis, quite handily at that. As you’ve seen, with a major sacrifice, with blood, we can do injury to Dukes of Hell. For my life… In twenty generations my predecessors have never found an opponent that they couldn’t defeat at the cost of their life and soul.”

Rin shivered.

“As much as certain parties on both sides may wish to deny it, Gehenna and Assiah are intertwined,” Lightning resumed. “Exorcists use power gained from demons to fight demons. Demons can increase their power through dealings with humans, either by being worshiped or by collecting sacrifices. To reach the rank of Grand Duke demons need humans. To oppose Gehenna effectively humans need demons. And then, Okumura-kun, there are Princes of Hell, like you.” 

“I’m not-” Rin protested. 

Lightning continued over him. “A Prince of Hell is more about potential or perceived potential than power,” he explained. “A prince is a king-in-waiting. Defeated kings are also considered princes because, like Anubis, they could return to power. Due to your parentage, it’s assumed that you could rise to become the King of Flames.”

“I want to defeat Satan, not join him,” Rin said firmly.

“And taking the Flame Kingdom wouldn’t forward your goal?” Lightning asked. “Thanks to Iblis’ policies it’s a relatively weak kingdom as a whole, but still…” 

“I agree with Okumura,” Angel said. “I don’t want him involved in infernal politics or hierarchies.”

Lightning sighed, “Arthur, what you or Rin want is largely immaterial. If he is perceived to be involved, then he is involved and Sir Pheles has told us that he is.”

“What does this have to do with not getting ambushed?” Rin asked uncomfortably.

“The four greater Hell Kings; Lucifer, Samael, Azazel and Beelzebub; hold power because gap between their power and a Grand Duke’s power is such that they can only be challenged by each other, Satan or another elder god,” Lightning explained. “The Earth Kingdom has more Grand Dukes than any other and Amaimon has always depended on coalitions within his kingdom to hold his territory. Anubis was the same during his previous reign, I assume he will be again. Egyn has a close relationship with his mother, Tiamat, and Astaroth had one with Satan, they’re both known to depend on their parent’s strenght to scare off challengers, although you can see how well that worked for Astaroth.” 

Angel looked disgusted. “I may not like or trust Pheles, but I have to admit he has ice running through his veins to entrap one of Satan’s sons and conspire to keep a second from him.” 

Rin started to point out that Mephisto was also Satan’s son and the King of Time to boot, but the words didn’t come. He frowned and tried again, Angel and Lightning watched curiously as his face contorted with the effort to spit it out. To Rin, the restriction felt a bit like an Oath, but not. He shut his eyes and focused on the feeling. There was a binding on him, but it felt more external than a Demon Oath; Rin had no doubt that it was Mephisto’s doing. Rather than continuing to try to fight it he asked, “What do you think Mephisto’s rank is?”

Angel scowled darkly. “Whatever he claims, I know Mephisto Pheles is a pseudonym; there is no possible way that he is a two hundred year old demon. I can’t imagine why he even bothers with such ridiculous lies.”

“Because they amuse him,” Lightning replied smiling. “And they draw attention to his obvious secrets, which are like bright shiny toys that distract the eye from his true secrets.” The archknight turned to Rin, “Debating Sir Pheles’ true identity and purpose is one of the primary forms of entertainment at higher level True Cross meetings. It is blatantly obvious that he is much older and much stronger than he professes himself to be; at least a Marquis, possibly a Grand Duke of the Time Kingdom.”

Angel made a disgruntled sound. “Better to call it the Kingdom of Entropy, everything it touches tends toward chaos.” 

Rin looked confused. 

“The King of Time claims to be a champion of freedom.” An ironic grin hovered about Lightning’s lips. “In practical terms that means there is very little formal structure in the Kingdom of Time and he doesn’t exert much direct control over his subjects. For that reason, knowing that Sir Pheles is kin of Samael tells us very little. And, as I mentioned, the Kingdom of Time doesn’t conform to standard ranks; Sir Pheles claims the rank of Harlequin.” 

Rin snickered, “Even he calls himself a clown?”

“A trickster would be more appropriate,” Angel muttered.

“I think it’s likely the definition he’d claim is a light-hearted, nimble and astute servant, acting to thwart the plans of his master while pursuing his own love interest with wit and resourcefulness,” Lightning suggested.

“Mephisto, with someone?” Rin’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Perhaps less distracting for a teenager to simply say ‘while pursuing his own interests’,” Lightning amended. 

Rin decided the appropriate response to the slight against his maturity would be to make a face at Lightning.

Lightning smirked then became more serious. “The more important question is who does Mephisto Pheles consider his master? Or perhaps who has made the mistake of considering him their servant? Samael? The Grigori? Satan? God?” 

“Not Samael,” Rin said with certainty.

Lightning glanced at him sharply.

“What about Iblis?” Rin asked. “What does he do?”

“Some kingdoms have a half-dozen Princes waiting in the wings, but Iblis is jealous of his power,” Lightning explained. “He kills off anyone capable of challenging him before they reach their full power. Okumura-kun, to the best of my knowledge you’re the only living Prince of Flames. Ucchusma is close, but he was defeated too definatively back when Iblis was consolidating his Kingdom. While you’re not particularly strong right now, in all of Assiah or Gehenna’s history you’re the sole inheritor of Satan’s blue flames, what you might become is down right terrifying. So you can either be killed because Iblis sees you as a threat to his power or you can become a threat in truth and hopefully defeat him.” 

“If he’s really that much more powerful than me, how would I beat him? You pretty much said he’s not going to sit around until I’m strong enough to fight him.” Rin asked. 

“By swearing yourself to the Myodha you’ve already made a good start against Iblis,” Lightning said. “I’d guess that the only reason Iblis didn’t eliminated Ucchusma was because he needed him as a bulwark against the Kingdom of Rot. You notice the Burning Impurity Kongo didn’t waste any time securing you as an ally once the Impure King fell? The two of you along with the rest of the Myodha familiars have become a coalition that Iblis can’t casually eliminate. We need to start strengthening that coalition before Iblis can find someone to assassinate you or muster the forces to take on the Myodha directly.”

“How?” Rin repeated. 

“We should start making contact with anyone else who might be on Iblis’ hit list-”

“No!” Angel interrupted. “The Grigori will never agree to it. Okumura cannot go about making overtures to demons.”

“Arthur-” Lightning began.

“No!”

“I kinda like the idea of getting more demons on Assiah’s side,” Rin said. 

Angel winced. 

Lightning sighed. “The Grigori doesn’t want more demons on their side,” he said then turned to Angel, “But we need them.”

“Okumura’s position with the Grigori is tenuous enough as it,” Angel argued. “Maybe I would consider broaching the subject once the True Cross is more sure of him, once he’s passed the Exorcist Exam. Until then Pheles and Ucchusma can do what they want with the information that Okumura opposes Iblis, but Rin? You will not actively do anything except fight the demons who attack Assiah. That is my final word on the subject.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perun - Slavic mythology. God of fire, lightning, mountains, the living world and a number of other things. Counterpart to Veles. 
> 
> Helios - Greek mythology. Titan sun god. I picked him over Apollo due to Apollo also having an association with light.
> 
> Agni - Hindu mythology. God of fire, acceptor of sacrifices.
> 
> Brigid - Celtic mythology. She is the goddess of all things perceived to be of relatively high dimensions such as high-rising flames, highlands, hill-forts and upland areas; and of activities and states conceived as psychologically lofty and elevated, such as wisdom, excellence, perfection, high intelligence, poetic eloquence, craftsmanship (especially blacksmithing), healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare. Associated with perpetual, sacred flames.
> 
> Chantico - Aztec mythology. Goddess of the fire in the heart and volcanoes, noted for her possessiveness.
> 
> Entropy and Time - From some of the more philosophical discussion in physics classes: the arrow of time always points in the direction of increasing entropy aka increasing disorder. With Mephisto as King of Time, linking Time and Chaos has appeal.


	12. Fall Festival

A dazed and disbelieving smile split Rin’s face as he sat at the center of an enthusiastic group of his non-cram school classmates.

“What do you want to make?” the class rep asked him. “The food is what none of the rest of us can do, so we should build our theme around the sort of things you want to prepare.”

Rin blushed and ducked his head. “I- I don’t know. I’ve got a pretty broad range now... um... I mean I’ll let you know if I can’t think of a menu, but…”

“How about an Oktoberfest theme?” One student suggested. “It’s the right month, Headmaster Faust would probably like it, we might even talk him into letting us serve beer.”

“The Headmaster, maybe,” a second argued. “But the other teachers would veto any alcohol before we could finish writing the proposal.”

“Oktoberfest food’s sort of boring,” Rin mumbled.

“I’d sort of, really like to do a Maid Cafe,” one of the girls suggested blushing. Several of the other girls sitting close to her giggled. “Okumura-kun, what sort of food would go with that theme?”

“Um, well, I guess we could do a French Menu,” Rin offered. Then he grinned. “Itamae-san just started me on haute cuisine, if a couple of you would be my assistants, um... ten people split into two shifts, I could use that model to organize our preparations. Then I could probably get Itamae to let me count that as a project for my internship so we could use the academy’s kitchens. No offense, but I’ve seen the dorms’ kitchenettes and they suck.”

“I’d like to help with the cooking,” one of the girls said. Godain and several other students nodded in agreement.

Rin’s smile brightened. “Who’s an early riser? I can teach you to make a pretty impressive Mille-feuille, but whoever helps with pastries and bread needs to wake up at four.”

“He’s serious,” Godain said before anyone could ask. “Rin-kun wakes up at four every morning.”

“The really fancy dessert the cafeteria serves?” one of the students asked. Rin nodded. “Okay, I can wake up to learn to make that.”

“We could make paper mache mock-ups of the biggest Paris tourist attractions and put them around the seating area,” Mana suggested. A number of their classmates nodded eagerly, shouting out suggestions.

“So it sounds like we have a plan,” the class rep declared. “Let’s start forming committees. In addition to Okumura-kun’s assistants we’ll need decorations, a wait-staff and clean up…”

Once the afternoon classes started Rin’s cell phone vibrated every few minutes as his classmates came up with new ideas for their project and during the breaks he was immediately pulled into more debates. Fifteen minutes after the final bell rang, Mana and Godain dragged Rin off to Cram School. “Are class projects alway like that?” Rin asked them. “Why didn’t I ever do something like this before? This is great! I didn’t know school could be so totally cool!”

Godain laughed at Rin’s child-like exuberance. “Well, Sir Pheles makes sure the Fall Festival is always a really big deal… I guess you missed it last year, being out sick all the time, but it’s Sir Pheles going all out, so you can imagine. Plus your idea that we should have a theme is giving the whole class a chance to really be involved, that makes everything more fun.”

The three of them walked into the Hall where the academic exorcist classes were taught. Ito and Maki were slumped against opposite walls under black clouds of dejection.

“What’s wrong with them?” Rin asked the other first and second year Exwires.

“They’re still looking for dates for the dance,” Konekomaru reported dryly.

“Don’t act so smug. I bet you and Suguro don’t have dates either,” Ito sulked.

“You’d lose that bet,” Konekomaru said. “I’m going with the president of the ‘We Love Sutras’ Club.”

Rin’s eyes widened. “What about your fiancee?” he asked.

“Kimiko-san and I are going as friends,” Konekomaru assured Rin. “Yoshikuni doesn’t mind. Neither of us would ask the other to be left out of school activities just because the other can’t be there.” He turned to Maki and Ito. “You two should stop trying to make it into a date. None of the girls you’ve asked like you that well-”

“Miwa-senpai is cruel!” Maki protested.

“Honesty is cruel,” Ueno interjected.

“-but I’m sure there are girls who would love the chance to attend without the pressure of a romantic entanglement,” Konekomaru continued calmly.

“What about you?” Ito asked Bon.

“I’m a serious student,” Bon declared. “I don’t have time for festivals.”

Rin started biting his lower lip worriedly.

“In other words you go turned down, just like those two losers,” Suzuki concluded.

“I’ll have you know…” Bon started then suddenly cut himself off. “I choose not to go. I haven’t been turned down because I haven’t asked anyone. And I’m not going to either.” He turned to Ito and Maki, “Just look at all the time and energy the two of you are wasting on this festival when you could be preparing for the Exorcist Exam at the end of the term.” Too late, Bon noticed Rin’s hunched shoulders and unhappy expression. “I’m helping with my class’ project of course,” the Aria back-peddled. “It’s our responsibility to do our part for class activities.” He glared at Ito and Maki again. “The two of you are spending so much time worry about girls that you’re probably slacking on your duties there too.”

Rin’s posture relaxed but his earlier excitement was lost. “I guess you don’t want to waste your time on the dance either,” Rin said unhappily to Izumo.

“Did I ever say that?” Izumo snapped as she glared darkly at Bon. “I happen to like music and I know you do too. If Suguro’s too chicken to ask the girl he actually likes it’s not our problem.”

When the first and second year Exwires split up to go to their classes Izumo waited until Rin had turned into their classroom. Then she grabbed Bon’s tie and, with surprising strength given her slight size, yanked the tall boy down to her eye level. “Get over yourself and let Rin have some fun,” she hissed. “I happen to know Paku is planning to ask you to the dance-”

“I turned her down,” Bon said.

“You what?” Izumo’s grip tightened, her eyes glittered dangerously. “You are going to apologize to her and beg her to let you escort her to the dance. And you’re telling Rin that you’re going so he can enjoy it,” she ordered.

Bon pushed her away then took a moment to recover his breath as he straightened his clothes. “I like Noriko-chan and it would have been fun to go, but I really don’t have time,” he said irritably. “I’ve got several meetings with the Myodha High Council every week. I’ve got my normal class load and cram school. Also I tutor Rin in Demon Pharmacology, English and World History. The missions with Angel’s squad are great experience, Rin and I are lucky to be doing that, plus the archknights getting to know Rin can only help us with the Grigori later on, but where you and Konekomaru spend a few hours in the evenings or weekends doing field work Rin and I are gone for days at a time with little to no warning. It’s a big disruption to our schedule and that time has to be made up. Rin doesn’t have time either, the Exorcist Exam is coming up in three more months, the Grigori’s threat to execute him if he doesn’t pass still stands.”

“He’s going to fail,” Izumo said bluntly. “Rin’s learned a lot, but he won’t pass the recitation section or the pharmacology section. Mephisto’s just going to have to pull something again.” She gritted her teeth. “This whole thing is so stupid, passing in three years is perfectly respectable!”

Bon grimaced and nodded. “Yeah, I checked the stats too. If we have to argue it, in the last fifty years, three percent of True Cross Exorcists have had to take the Exam more than five times before they passed. Rin being required to pass on the first time is nuts. Still, he should try to make a decent showing.”

“The Exam isn’t the only important thing,” Izumo stated. “Rin walked in here looking confident and happy. Doing something positive with his normal classmates and not being ostracized for once could be really good for him. It could go a long way toward get rid of any doubts he might still have about whether or not Yukio lied to him.” Then she added in a threateningly, “Do not screw this up.”

* * *

Paku politely listened to Bon’s awkward apology and request. “Sorry,” she said. “You were my first choice for a date to the dance, but not my only one. I can’t un-ask Katayama-senpai just because Izumo forced you to change your mind.”

“You asked someone else?” Bon hoped he didn’t sound as shocked as he felt.

“Ryuji-kun, what did you expect after you turned me down?” Paku asked. “I do understand if you’re too busy for girls right now, but I won’t be putting my life on hold because of that. Look, when things slow down and you’ve got time to date… Well if I’m not seriously involved with someone else by then… We could give it a try, I do like you quite a bit after all.”

Bon tried not to gape like a fish out of water.

Paku smiled and patted his hand. “It’s probably for the best,” she said. “I’m not really ready for anything serious right now and I can’t see you in a frivolous relationship… So, I’ll go with Katayama-senpai and have fun and you can find someone else to go with.” Paku gave him an innocent look. “Or face Izumo’s wrath. Just one bit of advice Ryuji-kun: Don’t go back and ask any of the girls who cried when you turned them down the first time around. If you thought that was unpleasant you really aren’t going to enjoy having to break-up with them as soon as the dance ends.”

Bon watched Paku walk off still in a state of shock. “Katayama?” ha managed. “But he’s a fourth year!”

* * *

“Noriko-chan is going with a fourth year,” Bon informed Konekomaru.

“So you still need a date or Izumo is going to kill you,” Konekomaru deduced.

“What’s a fourth year thinking, asking a girl two years younger to go with him?” Bon grumbled. “What do we know about Katayama anyway?”

“Okay, we’ve got to find you a date who won’t care that you’re only going to keep Rin from feeling guilty about having fun while you study AND that won’t care if you spend the whole night obsessing about Noriko-chan’s date,” Konekomaru sighed. “I’ll ask Kimiko-san if she has any friends who are trying to circumvent the Headmaster’s rule about bringing a date.”

“Maybe I could talk Tsuzo into pulling his records, that might have some hint as to what kind of guy this Katayama is. He can’t be a good student; if he was he’d be more worried about his classes. He’s a fourth year!”

“Ito and Maki are pretty desperate to find dates,” Konekomaru said dryly. “If all else fails you could cross-dress and take one of them. Noriko-chan had a blast doing your makeup last time.”

* * *

Rin looked around the transformed classroom, impressed by his classmates’ artistic skill. Then he turned to his two sleepy assistant pastry chefs. He put a key in the door that normally led to a supply closet, then before opening the door, Rin turned back to his classmates. “We didn’t get permission to use the cafeteria kitchen, but this is almost as good. Don’t ask how it works or how I arranged it, just be glad it does,” he instructed thinking back two days earlier:

_“I just have to watch anime with you?” Rin asked Mephisto suspiciously. “What’s the catch?”_

_Mephisto pouted elaborately, “You have such a suspicious mind. I want to spend quality time with my little brothers, but Amaimon complains endlessly about the volume of treats provided and you assume I’m up to no good.”_

_Several hours later Rin was sitting on the edge of the couch in Mephisto’s quarters his eyes glued to the screen. “Don’t take her to the dance!” he told the boy on the screen. “It’ll break Houki’s heart!”_

_“What about Laura?” Mephisto asked eagerly. “I think she’d be happier if she gave up on him and went for Charl.”_

Rin threw open the closet door and the Old Dorm’s kitchen was on the other side. It was four in the morning, the other two students blinked in confusion but shrugged and walked through without questioning how a kitchen got into the supply closet.

* * *

Konekomaru woke to the sound of rattling and banging rising up from the first floor of the Old Dorm. Quietly he slid out of bed and pulled on a robe. He met Bon in the hall, the bigger boy had his holster strapped under his arm. “It wouldn’t be the first time something got through the Academy Barriers,” Bon said.

Konekomaru nodded. “We should get more help,” he said quietly. He opened the door to Maki’s room while Bon took Godain’s room on the opposite side of the hall. Konekomaru shook Maki awake, “There’s something down stairs, get your gear and meet us at the top of the stairs,” he ordered.

“Godain’s missing,” Bon said with a worried frown and moved on to Ito’s room while Konekomaru went to wake Suzuki. A short while later the first year boys less Godain were assembled behind Bon and Konekomaru. Maki was armed with a bat, Ito had a sling-shot and Suzuki carried several vials of anti-demon pharmaceuticals. Bon nodded and the six boys crept cautiously down the stairs.

“It’s in the kitchen,” Konekomaru said softly. “I’ll cast a barrier, Maki through the door first. Bon and Ito follow them. Suzuki, hold back until we know what we’re dealing with.” Konekomaru started chanting, a moment before he completed the spell he gesture Maki forward. The knight hopeful kicked the door open and charged in.

Rin glanced up from where he was demonstrating how to make roll out dough to Godain and two of their regular classmates. Maki let his bat drop, “It’s just the son of Satan,” he called over his shoulder. “What the hell is up with making all this noise so early?” he asked as the other boys crowded in behind him.

“I told you guys we were using the kitchen for our booth,” Rin said crossly.

“The festival starts tomorrow,” Konekomaru pointed out.

Rin rolled his eyes, “Like we’ve got time to make puff pastry dough every morning. We’re making the dough today, then we’ll chill it. Actually I’ve got the whole kitchen staff doing a dry run today. They’re eating with us tonight. Dinner’ll be great. Now, stay out of my kitchen.”

“Just keep it down,” Ito said with a yawn as he tucked his sling-shot into his pocket. “Even the sun’s not up yet.”

“Don’t worry about the noise,” Bon said. He glanced at the two normal students then stepped closer to Rin and lowered his voice. “I’ll throw up a sound proof barrier around the kitchen. So just have fun.”

Rin nodded and smiled gratefully, he turned back to his assistants, “Okay, excitement’s over. Back to work!”

“Was that a gun?” one of Rin’s assistant pastry chefs asked.

Rin blinked guilelessly at the girl. “Why would Bon have a gun? You must be seeing things.”

* * *

Bon sighed and turned off the clip-light on his textbook plunging the dorm room into darkness. He’d read the same passage three times now and it just wasn’t sinking in. He stared up at the ceiling and frowned.

“I can hear you worrying,” Rin declared sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

“Kamiki wouldn’t really let Noriko-chan go to the dance with a shady character like Katayama?” Bon asked.

“I think Izumo would get an earful if she tried to tell Noriko-chan who she could or couldn’t date,” RIn said frankly. “What’s wrong with the guy anyway?”

“He’s a fourth year,” Bo ticked off the point on his fingers. “According to some of the girls I questioned he’s considered good looking. I couldn’t find anyone he’s dated to interrogate; apparently he had a long-distance thing with a girl from his middle school that ended over the summer but no one knows why. That’s suspicious isn’t it?”

“Izumo says she really does want to go, even if she’s competing with you for the top spot in all your classes. If I took her I could keep an eye on Noriko-chan for you,” Rin offered. “If this guy gets fresh with her or anything I’ll scare the pants off him.”

“He better keep his pants on!” Bon growled. Then he noticed that Rin’s eyes were burning, the blue flames glowed eerily in the darkened room.

Rin grinned, the interior of his mouth was also glowing, illuminating his toothy smile. “Pretty cool huh? Ucchusma’s been teaching me to pull my powers without the big light show for times when I wanna be stealthy. I haven’t quite gotten it down yet.”

“Cut that out,” Bon groaned throwing a pillow at Rin. “You look like a demented jack-o-lantern.” He thought for a moment about what Rin had said and sat up straight in bed. “You’d go to the dance with Kamiki and make sure that guy behaves himself around Noriko?”

“I guess it was a dumb idea,” Rin said.

“No! It’s brilliant,” Bon exclaimed. “That solves all my problems. It’s perfect. Rin you are a marvel.”

Rin laughed and shook his head. “Just for you, I’ll sacrifice myself and interrupt even if it’s Noriko-chan who starts holding hands or, I dunno, kissing-”

“She wouldn’t!” Bon looked horrified.

Rin snickered. “But you better appreciate it!”

“Always.”

* * *

Izumo let herself into the kitchen, she stood quietly against the wall watching the organized chaos.

The Festival was well into it’s second day, word had quickly spread about Rin’s booth and there had been a forty minute wait to get a table since nine that morning. Rin responded by getting Mephisto’s permission to lengthen their hours and recruiting additional member of his class to supplement his staff of assistant chefs.

Currently they had three shifts of eight students each per day in addition to Rin himself who was supervising all three shifts. Rin had the kitchen organized into five stations. For several minutes Izumo watched unnoticed while Rin bounced between the stations with boundless energy, keeping everything on track and directing his extra three people toward wherever more hands were needed. The wait-staff, dressed in tuxedos and maid outfits hurried back and forth through the key door to the classroom-turned-Parisian-cafe.

The smells wafting through the kitchen set Izumo’s stomach to rumbling. Rin noticed, he swiped a pastry off a tray heading to their counter display and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm,” Izumo said. Then teasingly, she said, “I was hoping you’d be in a tux.”

“I’m the chef, not one of the waiters,” Rin protested indignantly as he gestured to his hat and white coat. “If you want, I could borrow a tux for the dance,” he added shyly.

“Great idea. That gives me an excuse to dress up too,” Izumo decided. “I’ll get Paku and we’ll go dress shopping this afternoon. Going as a double date with her and her date was a great idea. Don’t tell Suguro, but I don’t think keeping an eye on Katayama is a bad idea.”

One of the girls who was waiting on tables burst into the kitchen. “That totally gorgeous guy is back today!” she squealed to one of her friends.

Rin shook his head. “I better go make sure whoever is waiting on Angel isn’t gonna swoon,” he told Izumo.

“Rin-kun! Is the sauce supposed to look like this?” the boy conscientiously stirring the pot on the stove called urgently.

Rin gave Izumo a quick kiss, “See you later,” he said as he rushed over to the stove.

Smiling softly Izumo slipped back out of the kitchen.

* * *

Nagatomo watched Rin attempting to tie the bow-tie on his tux... or possibly strangle himself with it judging from the way he went at it. “Here, let me help you with that,” the older man offered. Rin gratefully surrendered the bow-tie. As Nagatomo went to put it to rights they both hesitated for a moment, caught by memories of Shiro performing the same task before Rin’s ill-fated job interview and Nagatomo helping Rin get ready for Shiro’s funeral a few days later. “There, now you look spiffy for Izumo-chan,” Nagatomo said quietly when he finished.

“Thanks,” Rin replied with a small smile.

“I’m taking pictures of the two of you to send back to the monastery, just so you know,” Nagatomo threatened. “You’re going with Noriko-chan and her date, aren’t you?”

Rin nodded, “What’s-his-name is meeting us here.”

Bon and Konekomaru came downstairs a few minutes later. “I’d better hurry, Kimiko-san is expecting me,” Konekomaru said on his way out the door. Bon dropped a pile of books on one of the lobby tables, then came over to Rin. “Thanks again, it’ll be nice to have the dorm to myself tonight. I’m trying to catch up on even more of the Myo-o-dhari history that is secret unless you’re on the council.” He made a face expressing his disapproval of the Myodha council’s habitual secrecy.

Maki and Ito stalked downstairs and disgustedly threw themselves into chairs on opposite sides of the lobby. “No luck getting dates?” Nagatomo asked hiding a smile.

“No! And Maki refuses to dress as a girl so we can go,” Ito sulked.

“You’re the one who had half a chance of fitting into the dress!” Maki protested.

“So the two of you have nothing to do?” Tsuzo asked. “You’re not going to use your free time to work on homework or something?”

“Hell no!” Maki declared.

“I might write some letters complaining about the headmaster excluding members of the study body from school events,” Ito said thoughtfully. “I just have to figure out who to send them to so Mephisto gets a headache instead of a laugh out of them.”

Tsuzo smiled broadly. “Then you’ve both got plenty of time to help out with security.” She herded the two grumbling boys off to equip them with radio in preparation of putting them to work.

Godain and Suzuki joined Rin to wait for their dates. Like Rin, Godain had borrowed a tux from one of the boys who’d been helping as a waiter in their class’ cafe while Suzuki was wearing a suit jacket and tie.

The four girls descended the stairs together but Rin only had eyes for Izumo. She was wearing a shimmery, deep purple gown with a full skirt that fell to her ankles, it had a fitted bodice and heart-shaped neckline that left Izumo’s shoulders bare. Her long hair was piled up on top of her head in a woven crown. Nagatomo snapped a few quick pictures of Rin staring at Izumo with an expression of stunned amazement as she descended the stairs.

* * *

**Delphi**

Renzo climbed up the stairs from the bath house after helping with the evening bath time. He was half-way across the courtyard when one of the former La Llorona stopped him. “Mr. Renzo, would you mind looking at something for me?” she asked timidly. “I didn’t want to bother Mr. Neuhaus or King Amaimon if it turned out to be nothing…”

“Sure, no problem,” Renzo cut off her nervous babbling with a smile. “So is it that I’m more approachable than those two or do you just think I’m not working hard enough? Um, Sofia, right?”

“You, you remembered me?” Sofia stammered.

Renzo took her elbow, “I remember all the pretty girls’ names. Now let’s see if I can put your mind to ease about whatever it is you wanted to show me? If it’s really something to worry about I’ll turn it over to someone scarier than me, I promise.”

Sofia nodded jerkily then led him out to Gaia’s hedge. “That,” she said vaguely, pointing toward the base of the hedge. Renzo crouched to get a better look before the light faded from the sky. Quickly Sofia pricked the back of his neck with a small needle. Renzo collapsed without a sound, unconscious before his body hit the ground, then Sofia pressed his hand to the thorny barrier. Recognizing Renzo’s blood, the hedge opened a passage. Todo Saburota walked through followed by two men in elaborate, military-style uniforms. Todo walked over to Sofia while his subordinates collected Renzo.

“We’ll be safe now, won’t we?” Sofia asked, her eyes strayed guiltily to Renzo’s limp form. “My little boy and I?”

Todo smirked. “Safe as houses. You did well in your first assignment my dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just read Chapter 64. I am incredibly curious about how the latest reveal plays into some of Shima's internal monologues from the Kyoto Arc. But it's probably too late to change any of my plans for Renzo to line up with cannon at this point.


	13. Taken

On his way back to the monastery for a visit Nagatomo detoured to the cemetery Fujimoto Shiro had been buried. He took a moment to wash Fujimoto Shiro’s grave marker then pulled out prints of the pictures he’d taken earlier that evening. “I had a feeling you would want to be kept abreast of recent developments: Rin took his girlfriend to a dance. As you can see he even dressed up for her,” he said holding up a picture of Rin and Izumo standing together on the stairs. “Kamiki-san is stubborn, opinionated and down-right vicious when she thinks the situation calls for it… You’d approve of her. She accepts Rin without reservations and she looks out for him.”

Nagatomo flipped to another photo which included Paku and her date. “Do you see the boy in the background glaring daggers at Paku-san’s date?” he asked. “Suguro Ryuji has become a very good friend to Rin as well. Suguro-san and Kamiki-san butt heads fairly regularly; I think they’re a bit too much alike to ever get along; but between the two of them they make sure that Rin’s protected from the things he can’t protect himself from. To be honest they seem to have a better notion of what Rin needs, and what he can handle for himself, than we did.” 

“I wish you could have seen Rin this last week.” Nagatomo smiled warmly. “Taking part in school activities, dating, spending time with friends. He’s not taking a full class load, but he’s more focused on the courses he does take.” The young priest chuckled, “He’s studying to become a chef. Rin’s happy; he has direction and grounding. I’m starting to see the adult he’ll grown into being.” 

Nagatomo trailed off and remained silent for a long moment. He looked past Shiro’s grave, as if subconsciously trying to avoid eye contact. “And between his internship and his classes Rin is becoming a powerful exorcist… And a powerful demon. Your successor is training him as a knight. The Myodhan Fire Spirit teaching him to control his demonic flames.” 

“Ever since he was tiny we’ve been terrified of losing Rin to his demon-blood,” Nagatomo said regretfully. “And now here he is, a fully awakened demon and still our Rin. The ears, the fangs, the tail, even the flames, nothing that matters changed, he’s still Rin on the inside. We were so afraid of what would happen if the Koma Sword were unsealed, but we didn’t really know what would happen... There was so much we just didn’t know.”

Nagatomo placed the stack of pictures on the grave then turned as if to leave. “I wish I could give you more of an update on Yukio,” he said hesitantly turning back to Shiro’s grave. “I know you’re worried about him too. But I’ve only just managed to let go of my anger with him. Yukio has been transferred to Brazil, the True Cross Academy of Rio, Shura’s there.” 

“Yukio never got in fights the way Rin did, his teachers loved him… and it didn’t stop him from being every bit as isolated as Rin was, we just didn’t think about it as much. It took much too long for me to realize this but when they started at the Academy, despite all his failures, Rin was still trying to reach out and make friends, but Yukio… Being a teacher to his age-mates and so much younger than his peers, and believing he was responsible for Rin, I think Yukio gave up on having friends. I wonder how many of his actions were driven by being so isolated, feeling he had no one else to rely on.” 

“Shura always managed to drive Yukio clean up the wall, from the first moment they met. Do you remember? The other Exwires in his classes ignored him because he was so much younger than him, she gleefully competed with him. She never acted like he didn’t belong in their class and Yukio had no idea of how to deal with being accepted. I’m glad she’s there, I think Yukio could use a friend.” 

Nagatomo hesitated again, then added, “I’ve heard rumors that Yukio was caught up in some sort of attack on the Research Facility in Rio. That he was one of the lucky ones. Kyodo check into it, Yukio is still on medical leave as an exorcist even months later but he’s attending his classes at school. Of course this is Yukio, the fact that he’s in class doesn’t say as much as it should; when he was ten we couldn’t keep him home from school with a fractured collarbone after all. I doubt he’s gotten better about taking care of himself. Someone should check on him in person. I know someone should, but I don’t think I can quite yet. I can’t stop hearing him justify abusing Rin. I can’t get over how little guilt he felt even when Rin almost died because of him.”

Nagatomo sat back on his heels and stared at the sky tiredly. “You think if you just love kids enough everything else will follow. Every one of us adored those two boys. But somehow, somehow, we protected Rin too much and Yukio not enough. We protected Rin so much we taught him to think he couldn’t possibly amount to anything. We taught him bible stories and didn’t think too much about how he’d feel if, when he found out who his father was. And Yukio… We tried to teach him to be stronger. We never worried about teaching Yukio compassion, just assumed it would come because his demon-blood never manifested. Yukio is brilliant and determined and, and ruthless. The lengths he went to… Yukio scares me.”

Nagatomo sighed, “Here I am talking about depressing stuff when I just wanted to stop by and tell you how well Rin’s doing.” He straightened the stack of pictures on Shiro’s grave then turned and walked away. 

Some time after Nagatomo had left a breeze flipped through the pictures, settling on one of Rin and Izumo, smiling shyly at one another, obviously in love.

* * *

Renzo woke to a sharp slap to his cheek. He saw Todo standing over him and felt ropes around his wrists. “Shit,” he said quietly.

“You gambled and you lost kid,” Todo said and shook his head. He gave Renzo a look of insincere sympathy. “I just heard back from the higher ups, we don’t need anyone in the Cult of Gaia’s inner circle.”

Renzo licked his lips nervously. “So what now?” he asked.

“Right now, we’re right in the middle of the True Cross and Hellenic Military camp,” Todo said gesturing to the sand-colored canvas tent over their heads. “You’ve got one chance left kid. Order Yamantaka to go on a rampage.”

“Cause a big incident you mean,” Shima said. “Give them an excuse to try to clear Gaia and the kids out? No.” 

Todo smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he said and started drawing a circle on the floor of the tent.

“What the hell?” Renzo frowned. “You tell me summon Yamantaka, then you stick me in the middle of circle that’s going to keep him out?”

“I told you that you had one chance. And you blew it,” Todo replied. “Have you ever wondered why you don’t need a summoning circle? Well, let me tell you a story, kid.”

“Not interested,” Renzo replied.

“Trust me, you aren’t in any hurry for what comes next,” Todo said. “Now, about that story. About eighteen years ago, before the Myodha joined the True Cross, Shima Sakura took a position in Rome as the Myodha’s ambassador to the Order of the True Cross. She took a high school freshman with her as her aid, one of her eldest son’s classmates, and she came back to Kyoto a year later with a five month old infant.”

Renzo tried to keep from looking surprised. No one had ever mentioned anything about him being born in a foreign country. 

“Now here’s where the story gets interesting,” Todo continued. “Just a few months before Sakura requested the posting, she and her husband had been having… notable… quarrels with their son Takezo about the very same girl that Sakura chose as her aid. Several years later a high level demon from the Kingdom of Rot was sent after the Myodha high priest’s heir, he screwed up and grabbed you instead and Shima Takezo sacrificed his life to give his familiar, Yamantaka, enough of a power-boost to get you back safely. I did a little asking around back in Rome; eighteen years ago it wasn’t Shima Sakura who was pregnant, it was her aid. Shima Takezo didn’t die saving his younger brother, he died saving his son.”

‘There’s no reason for him to lie about any of that. How am I supposed to feel?’ Renzo thought. ‘The brother I can’t remember is actually my father; and apparently not as perfect as everyone always told me. But what does it matter? It doesn’t change anything. Damn, I knew my parents wished it had been me that died not my older brother; I guess it makes sense; they’re my grandparents and they’d rather have their son than his bastard child. What the hell was Takezo thinking? I was never supposed to exist in the first place.’ 

“So what does this matter?” Todo asked himself for Renzo. “It matters because you have a very good rapport with Yamantaka but I’m ready to bet he’s not your familiar. He’s just hangs around you because he’s still carrying out his tamer’s last order: to act as your, well, your guardian angel. So I’m willing to bet that I don’t actually need you to summon Yamantaka, or to order him to go on a rampage. All I have to do is put you in enough distress and he’ll come. And when he can’t get to you…” Todo smirked. “He’s going to tear this place apart and there’s nothing you can do to stop him.” 

Todo shoved a gag in Renzo’s mouth. “Don’t want you screaming, the wrong someone might come to help.”

* * *

The sound of gunfire jerked Neuhaus out of sleep. Beside him Michelle was already sitting up in bed, her spiders beginning to swarm over her. “It’s farther out than the hedge,” she said, her senses sharper than a human’s.

“Still means nothing good,” Neuhaus grunted grabbing a shirt as he rolled to his feet. 

They stepped out from behind their screen and met Shiemi, Amaimon, Echidna and Maria in the common area of the Apollo Temple. “You and the other La Llorona, stay with the kids,” Neuhaus ordered Maria. 

The La Llorona-turned-Fury’s clipped wings spread in an aggressive stance. “We can fight.”

“You’re too obviously demon,” Neuhaus snapped. “I’d like to get out of this without fighting. Just by being there you’ll antagonize the True Cross Exorcists. And you’re due this week, you’d be a liability. Stay here, prepare our defenses in case we fail.” 

Maria’s mouth narrowed but she gave a short nod of agreement. 

“I will defend the children as well,” Echidna declared as she rose up on her coils until she towered over everyone else in the room.

Obizu, Juuzo, Mamushi, Tapa Mangal and Bhat Sanya burst into the temple. “We’re organizing our forces to help defend the Sanctuary if we’re attacked,” Mamushi said. “Juuzo and Tapa-san will go with you… You are going to try talking to them are you not?”

“Certainly,” Neuhaus growled. “If they’ll talk to us.”

“Juuzo and Tapa-san are still technically members of the True Cross, in good standing,” Mamushi pointed out. “They can serve as mediators. I’d also like permission to evacuate the infants and toddlers to India if...”

“No,” Echidna stated. 

“Where’s Ren?” Juuzo asked looking around.

“Hell,” Neuhaus swore, “If he’s betrayed us…”

Sheimi frowned at him. “Renzo-kun is my friend,” she said while Michelle leaned close to her husband and whispered, “Aren’t you being a bit paranoid, Igor?”

“He has dealings with the Illuminati; Mamushi-san’s old friend Todo,” Neuhaus replied. “He went to Sir Pheles for help getting out of his promises, but he might have decided he was in too deep.”

“None of you understand what Todo’s like,” Mamushi said quietly. “If you listen to him for too long you’ll believe up is down and black is white.”

Juuzo bit his lip but said nothing.

The sound of more gunfire broke the momentary silence. “Blood has been spilled on Gaia’s land,” Shiemi stated gravely. “Renzo has not betrayed us, we will not waste time speculating on it.” She hesitated for a moment, “...without proof,” she added unhappily. 

Neuhaus grimaced but nodded. “The more momentum this has the harder it’ll be to stop. Lady Obizu, will you be coming with us?”

“If it is Lucy’s bunch getting up to something my Lord would want to know,” she said. “And I’m always up for a brawl.”

“You mind holding back until it is a brawl?” Neuhaus asked sardonically. “You and Amaimon both, actually.”

“Sure, talking’s boring,” Amaimon shrugged and Obizu nodded.

While the rest of the camp prepared for an attack Shiemi, Neuhaus, Michelle, Juuzo and Tapa, followed by Amaimon and Obizu went through the hedge. 

As soon the hedge opened for them there were a dozen guns pointed at the group. Juuzo stepped forward and held up his hands, “Take us to your leader?” he asked with a disingenuous grin. Tapa rolled his eyes. “We heard the disturbance,” he said. “We aren’t behind it but maybe we can help.”

The ranking True Cross and Hellenic Army officer conferred quickly. “Come with us,” the exorcist said. The rest of the guards fell in around them and didn’t lower their weapons. 

As they walked Shiemi glanced at the camps that had sprung up around the Sanctuary, she chewed her lip worriedly for a moment then waved her hand and new hedges sprung up encircling and dividing the different groups. 

The soldiers and exorcists spun around, several shots were fired at the new hedges before discipline was restored. 

“Stop it!” Shiemi shouted. “They’re just here because they want to help! They aren’t armed! Most can’t even see demons! I don’t want them to get caught up in any fighting.”

Tapa shook his head at the display of power. “Looking at her it’s hard to remember that she’s the most dangerous of us all,” he said very quietly to Neuhaus.

The one-eyed man smirked, “She took on the True Cross’ Paladin before she had Gaia’s power,” he replied while they waited for their escort’s decision. “She never wants a fight but that girl doesn’t back down when she’s got someone to protect.”

Unhappily their military escort sighed. “It’s a good idea,” he told his exorcist counterpart. 

The exorcist glared at Shiemi for a moment longer. “They’re her supporters not ours; I suppose she’s not going to have her pet demon eat them,” he decided

“Thank you for understanding,” Tapa said. He gave Shiemi a warning look. “There will be no more un-announced displays of power from us.” 

Trailing behind the others Obizu turned to Amaimon, “You sense Yamantaka’s flames don’t you? Lady Shiemi must as well, even if she denies it. What do you think of Yamantaka’s master? Is he behind this?”

Amaimon grimaced, “I think Pink-hair likes my priestess too much,” he grumbled. “But then, so does Egyn-ni.” He eyed her warily. “Between the two of us we could take down Iblis on a good day; Yamantaka won’t be a problem.”

Obizu nodded. “Fire doesn’t do well against Earth and Water combined.” 

Their escorts led them to what had been the center of the Hellenic Army and True Cross camp. “Tell your men to stand down!” an Upper First Class True Cross exorcist was shouting at a Greek general. 

“We’re under attack!” the general shouted back.

“They can’t see what the they’re shooting at! My exorcists can’t do their job while your men are firing at random!” 

“We heard the rumpus from our camp,” Juuzo interjected. “Thought maybe you could use some help settling it?”

The respective commanders turned on Juuzo angrily. “Stop the attack!” the ranking exorcist demanded.

“They say they’re not behind it,” their escort said dubiously. “They came peacefully.” 

“Why should I believe you!” the general shouted. “My people suddenly start dropping like flies.” He pointed angrily to the exorcist, “He tells me there’s some great black flaming demon causing it that none of us can see! And you say it’s not you! He says it’s her bodyguard’s and what other demons are around here but the lot of you?”

Juuzo slowly reached up and pointed to his True Cross pin. “I’m not your enemy,” he said, speaking mostly to the exorcist. “I’ve been helping them place the kids that’s all. Now I’m trying to mediate so we can figure out what other faction is involved. Because I’m telling you, they were as caught off guard as you were tonight.”

“We don’t want a fight,” Neuhaus added placatingly. “We’re here to talk, here to sort out what’s going on and help if we can.”

The exorcist scowled. “Pull everyone out. If they’re behind or not, it sounds like they’ll stop the attack.” He gave the lot of them a suspicious glare. “We’ll sort out who was behind it afterwards.” 

Unexpectedly the general took a step forward, grabbed Shiemi’s arm and yanked her toward him. He spun her around and put a gun to her head. Those with a masho saw Amaimon’s form shift as he opened his heart. Several of the True Cross’ aria started barrier spells while the dragoons cocked their weapons. “In the meanwhile, I’ll keep a hold of your little ‘priestess’,” the general said, sensing but not truly understanding his allies’ increased tension. “Just to make sure this isn’t some sort of trap.”

Shiemi stared straight at Amaimon. “It’s okay,” she said. “We’re doing exactly what we told them, he won’t shoot me.” 

Amaimon’s lips drew back revealing a mouthful of fangs. 

“He won’t shoot me,” Shiemi repeated and Amaimon saw a tendril of Gaia’s power enter the gun and begin to grow. With a sneer at the general, Amaimon straightened.

“Okay,” Juuzo said with a small sigh of relief. “Let’s see about getting your problem solved.”

“Clear the area, fifty meter radius,” the general ordered and his communications officer relaid it. 

“My people are already out,” the ranking exorcist said. “I pulled them when these…” he gave the general a frustrated look, “...bystanders started shooting.”

As they approached the site of the attack they saw a number of bodies, undamaged but apparently lifeless, being hauled away along with the more obvious friendly-fire injuries. Then they saw Yamantaka, black flames dripped from the demon as he beat on a tent with joined fists. Shiemi had never seen Yamantaka fully manifested before, to her he had always been a dark aura of flames around Renzo. Now, he was a towering, four-armed, horse-faced being, four meters tall and massively built. 

“He’s trying to break a mystical barrier,” Neuhaus observed eyeing the tent suspiciously. 

Juuzo stared at Yamantaka in horror. “He’s using too much power,” he said to himself.

“My spiders are looking for-” Michelle stopped herself before saying Renzo, then finished with a barely perceptible pause, “-the tamer.” 

“We’ll deal with the demon,” Amaimon said as he and Obizu stepped forward. 

Obizu stopped about five meters short of Yamantaka and leapt lightly on top of a tent pole. She stood there, her long white hair fluttering in the breeze like seafoam as Amaimon continued stalking forward. The water duchess put her hand together creating a circle between her thumbs and fingers, then she blew through the gap. A massive jet of water blasted Yamantaka, quelling his flames and knocking him to the ground. “That’ll be enough out of you, swab,” Obizu declared 

Yamantaka snarled at his new challenger, but before he could act Amaimon barreled into him. For several moments the two wrestled, rolling back and forth in the mud left by Obizu’s attack. “You may be stronger than me Hell King, but your soul will still burn,” Yamantaka growed as he staggered to his feet dripping mud. 

Amaimon smirked whens Yamantaka tried to summon his flames through the mud and clay caked on him. “Your fire doesn’t burn the physical, but my clay isn’t simple clay either,” Amaimon said. He scowled at Yamantaka, “My priestess doesn’t want a fight, but because of you and your master we may not have a choice. So we will stop you and we may even turn you over to them as a peace-offering once we’re done with you.”

“None of you will keep me from him!” Yamantaka raged. Amaimon’s clay began to steam. “I fight to the last drop of my power to protect Renzo!”

Juuzo and Shiemi gasped. “No, no, no!” Juuzo muttered. He looked around wildly. “Ren’s not controlling him, shit. This is bad.” Yamantaka lowered himself in preparation to charge Amaimon. “Yamantaka, you have to stop!” Juuzo shouted. “I’m Shima Juuzo, of the Myo-o-dhari. I command you to stand down.”

“I take no orders from you, replacement Shima-heir,” Yamantaka sneered. “Takezo entrusted Renzo to me and I will not fail him.” 

“You’re killing Renzo!” Juuzo exclaimed.

Yamantaka froze. Slowly he turned to stare at Juuzo.

“Take’s life was used up years ago,” Juuzo continued.

Yamantaka shook his head, “I can sense the strength he gave me so that I might protect Renzo after he was gone.”

“No!” Juuzo said firmly. “Takezo gave all of his life to you to protect Renzo, but before that he also gave some of it to Renzo when Ren was conceived, that’s what you sense. It’s Renzo’s life you’re taking now. You have to stop, you’re killing him.”

Shiemi fought the general’s hold. Reflexively pulled the trigger on his pistol but it wouldn’t budge. In the time since she’d been taken her hostage, Shiemi had commanded the fungus in the air to latch on to the pistol and grow until every last crevice packed solid with spores. The general stared at his gun in confusion and Shiemi slipped free of him. She ran to Yamantaka and caught his hand between hers. When the demon turned to meet her eyes he felt as if he were falling into endless well of green. “I won’t fail Renzo either,” Shiemi said firmly. “Tell me what has happened to him so I can help.” 

Yamantaka turned back to stare at the tent he had been trying unsuccessfully to breech. He slumped in defeat, “Renzo’s gone,” he said. “They took Renzo, he was there. They hurt him. Now he’s gone.”

Vines erupted from the ground just inside the tent and ripped it, and the barrier shielding it, to shreds. With the barrier gone, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. An empty chair, blood-stained restraints hanging from it, sat in the center of the space where the tent had been.

* * *

On the other side of the world Izumo leaned against Rin, her head tucked under his chin, as they swayed gently in time with the music. They’d been on the dance floor for better than an hour. Spinning and bouncing to the fast songs, cuddling to the slow ones. Izumo was in her stocking feet; she’d ditched the silvery, spindly heels that went with the dress during the third song the band played.

Rin’s stomach rumbled and Izumo giggled. “Time for dinner?” she asked.

“You heard that?” Rin sounded embarrassed. “Well, we should check on Noriko-chan and What’s-his-name anyway.” Izumo smirked, she was almost positive ‘what’s-his-name’ had more to do with Rin’s evaluation of Katayama’s importance than with Rin’s memory. They found Paku and her date at the table on the edge of the dance floor. “I’m getting food for Izumo and I, wanna come?” Rin asked Katayama.

“Alright,” the older boy agreed.

Once the boys were gone Izumo turned to Paku. “So?” she demanded.

Paku shrugged. “His long term girlfriend dumped him over summer break, he’s totally not over her. However, he is doing his best to be an attentive date. Still, I’ve put a moratorium on slow dances; it’s just no fun listening to him sigh.”

“You’re having an okay time and Suguro got what he deserves,” Izumo summarized. “I’ll be sure to tell Rin not to mentally scar Katayama too much.”

Paku stifled a giggle. “Ryuji-kun was jealous wasn’t he?” 

“Are the chaperones going to have to talk to you and Rin before the night’s out?,” Paku asked Izumo a few moments later. “I didn’t see even a sliver of light between you two during that last song.”

“Paku!” Izumo hissed. “You’re almost as bad as Uke and Mike!”

“Right, right. There are all sorts of quiet corners in the dorm. No reason for you to risk necking in public,” Izumo’s best friend teased.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Izumo declared even though she could feel her cheeks burning.

“Sure you don’t,” Paku replied snickering. 

Then Izumo saw Bon scanning the crowd. Her blush transformed into a scowl. “What does he want?” she muttered.

A moment later Bon spotted them and headed over.

“You and Rin did not get a mission tonight,” Izumo said threateningly.

Bon grimaced. “You and Konekomaru too,” he said. “It’s Delphi and it’s bad.”

“Is Shiemi-chan okay?” Paku asked worriedly.

“I don’t know,” Bon replied. “The Order lost contact with the entire company stationed there. The Grigori is sending Angel and all four Archknights. In other words, they think this could be the end of the world.”

* * *

In a burst of flame Todo appeared in the center of an Illuminati base with Renzo slung over his shoulder. Blood oozed sluggishly from lacerations around the pink-haired boy’s wrists and trickled down his fingers. “Get me a medic,” Todo shouted. “Lucifer-sama wants the traitor alive”

As several Illuminati ran over with a stretcher a pretty woman with white bangs frowned at Todo. “Yes, Lucifer-sama does want him alive. You should have been more careful.”

Todo dumped Renzo on the stretcher. There was a charred, hand-shaped brand on the pink-haired teen’s stomach and the delicate flesh around his eyes was white and swollen with second degree burns. Todo shrugged. “I over-estimated the brat. He went into shock after barely ten minutes.”

“Well, you got out of Greece just in time,” the woman said. “Gaia has extended her territory from the Corinthian Gulf in the west to the Euripus Strait in the east; from the Mornos River in the North and in the south Thebes is threatened.” She canted her head to the side. “I’m almost impressed. A military force eight hundred strong and fifty exorcists disappeared with barely a shot fired. In moment she took 9000 square kilometers and made it hers.”

“We’ll see if she can hold it once the shock wears off,” Todo said. “I, for one, am hoping for a bloody, drawn out war between Lucifer-sama’s enemies.”


	14. The Kingdom of Gaia

Holding a lantern before her Michelle left the daylight behind to carefully navigated the thorny labyrinth that had overtaken the True Cross and Hellenic Army camps. Unlike the hedge around the Sanctuary, the bramble that grew up over the military camps was notably lacking in foliage. The ebony branches were starkly bare of everything except a multitude of long, polished thorns. The bramble didn’t form a neat hedge either; it filled the camps leaving only claustrophobic tunnels for passage between the cramped cells Shiemi had allowed to form once the soldiers and exorcists had been disarmed. Michelle passed by a jeep embedded in the bramble, it’s frame had buckled and it’s engine block had cracked under the pressure of the of the plants rooting in it.

When she reached her destination, unmarked except in her memory, Michelle pricked her finger on a thorn. Grudgingly the brambles pulled back to allow her access to the dark, low ceilinged cell that had formed on the site where Renzo had been tortured. The smell of burnt flesh had dissipated but the empty chair still sat there. On either side of the chair the commanders of the True Cross company and the Hellenic Army battalion knelt, tightly bound by Shiemi’s vines. The rest of their prisoners had been granted a small freedom of movement once they’d been disarmed but these two would have been hard pressed to twitch a finger.

Michelle put her lantern down by the entrance then stood, the thorns emerging from the ceiling had to draw back to avoid impaling her. “General Floros, Upper First Class Exorcist Bassi,” she said as she placed several bloody lengths of rope on the empty chair between them. “I’ve confirmed that the blood is Renzo Shima’s. Would either of you care to change your story?” 

“We have no idea what your tamer was doing in our camp,” Exorcist Bassi protested, his tone managed to imply both doubts that Renzo had been there in the first place and a conviction that if he had been there he’d been up to no good.

“Nikator Floros, General, 789-52-9485.”

Michelle sighed. “Let us be reasonable gentlemen.” She gestured to the ropes. “Renzo Shima was here, in your camp and he was not here willingly. He was bound, he struggled until his flesh tore and he bled. This happened in your camp. The only natural conclusion is that one of you ordered his capture, his torture.” She glanced pointedly at the long, dagger-like thorns emerging threateningly from the walls of the cell. “Moriyama-san is intensely protective of her friends. Gaia is a god, it is their nature to be possessive and jealous, they don’t react well to having their things taken. You can’t bargain or reason with either of them, there is nothing you can offer that they will trade Renzo Shima for. You have one hostage, we have nearly a thousand. If you want to get out of this without further casualties you need to tell us where he was taken. Once Renzo is restored to us, you and your people will be set free.”

The two commanders glared at Michelle in stubborn silence. “One of you took Renzo,” Michelle reiterated. “But I can’t tell who it was.” Floros flinched when several of Michelle’s possessed spiders ran up her neck, over her cheek and vanished in her hair; Michelle imagined that the True Cross had briefed Bassi on her familiars ahead of time. She turned to Bassi, “I became an Exwire at fourteen, I was a member of the True Cross for my entire adult life. When I died and was revived as a demon the True Cross’ official position was that I should be exorcized, not for my actions but because of what I was. I am well and truly aware of the True Cross’ prejudices, having experienced them from both sides. I understand those prejudices intimately: Satan may kill you, but Gaia threatens your beliefs; your binary view of the world; and that is a much more frightening for you.” Michelle paused for a few moments then turned to Floros. “In your eyes we are invaders in country. You don’t acknowledge that Gaia’s right to the Omphalos and Delphi is irrevocable and inviolate; that the very land you stand on is her body. Both of you have the motivation to order the kidnapping and torture of a seventeen-year-old boy if you thought it could give you an edge against us.”

“But…” Michelle turned to Floros, “Grabbing a tamer without taking measures to keep his, powerful and dangerous, familiar out of Assiah?” She gestured to Bassi, “He’d have known how dumb that was. Fifteen of your men were lost to Yamantaka himself and another twenty-eight were killed by friendly-fire. Nearly fifty more were injured, but should recover.” Michelle let that sink in for a moment. “Still… someone knew enough to try to put up a barrier. It was the wrong barrier but… Does your general friend even have a masho?” She asked Bassi. “He didn’t react when Amaimon unsealed his heart last night, any sane, knowledgeable person worries when facing an enraged Hell King.” 

“When it was us under attack, you were quick enough to insist there was another party involved,” Bassi snorted. “Why aren’t you looking for your third party now?”

Michelle turned and left. On her way back through the maze she found Mamushi and Bhat Sanya returning from checking on the injured. “Did they tell you anything?” Mamushi asked. 

Michelle shook her head, “I’m hoping I said enough to start them arguing between themselves, but my spiders haven’t found any sign of Todo in Delphi. I’m afraid that they’re telling the truth about not being behind Renzo’s kidnapping.”

Sanya glanced at the bramble maze surrounding them. “Who’s going to tell Ms. Shiemi that she attacked the wrong target?”

Michelle sighed. “I don’t know how to tell Shiemi that. I’m afraid of how she’ll react once she realizes what it means if the Illuminati do have Renzo… If he’s not dead already, he’s probably hoping for death... And if neither of them took Renzo I don’t know how we’re going to back down without getting obliterated in the process.”

* * *

Rin stood on a bluff ten kilometers north of Thebes and stared. Behind him Archknight Oakley was supervising the unloading and divvying up of their gear as they prepared to abandon their van. Ahead of him the land stretched out lush and vibrantly green. Rin could pick out the remains of the highway to Delphi and a convoy of military ATVs abandoned a few kilometers ahead of them after the vehicles had become ensnared in vines. In the distance he could see a cluster of buildings, the walls had a distinct green sheen to them, caused by the plants sprouting from every surface. 

“Prettiest proto-apocalypse I’ve ever seen,” Lightning said coming up behind Rin. He raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes and scanned the horizon. After a few minutes he said, “Oh there’s a clever bunch. We’ll have to talk to them.” He handed the binoculars to Rin. There was a group with a flatbed truck piled high with furniture slowly working it’s way out of Gaia’s territory. A number of people scurried around picking up boards from behind the truck and laying them in front of it to create a few yards of road over the rough and muddy terrain. 

“Do you think Gaia turned against Shiemi?” Rin asked worriedly. “I know Shiemi wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

Lightning shrugged. “That’s why we’re going in: to find out what happened. But we have managed to establish phone contact with the plants we had among the supplicants. Eighteen hours ago they were woken by shooting from the Hellenic Military camp. Then impassible hedges sprung up around the various supplicant camps, separating them from each other and the fighting. Around midday openings formed in the hedges, none of the civilians have been hurt. The Delphi Sanctuary as well as the True Cross and Hellenic Military camp remain in lockdown behind the hedges. Someone’s looking out for the people involved. My guess is your friend Moriyama is still tempering Gaia’s actions.” 

Rin smiled in relief and nodded.

“Slackers!” Oakley shouted. “Get your butts over here and get to work!”

“Think she’s talking to us?” Lightning asked lightly as Rin hurried to help load their gear on Durov’s familiar Bukavac. 

“Okay listen up brats,” Oakley said. “You’ll each be carrying some MRE’s, water and a one man tent on top of your personal gear. We will not be living off the land once we cross into Gaia’s territory. Okumura, I am talking to you. Gaia has created a kingdom here. If you know Persephone’s story you know you can become indebted by eating so much as a seed from a demon’s kingdom: Don’t eat anything that you don’t carry in with you. Your cantines are equipped with mystical filtration so we should be able to refill them, but do not drink directly from a stream. Once we enter into talks hospitality rules might provide a loophole but you four don’t have the experience to judge: Don’t accept anything from anyone unless it’s been okayed through one of us,” she waved to the other Archknights and the Paladin. “If you get separated from the group you’ll be carrying enough gear to hike back to Thebes if needed: Do not allow yourself to become stranded in Gaia’s Kingdom. Bukavac has the bulk of our supplies which should cover us for a two week mission.” 

Durov slapped a startled Izumo on the shoulder. “Why don’t you summon a half dozen lower level fox spirits for our advance scouts,” the Tamer-adept suggested. “They’re perfect for the job. Given Inari’s Harvest association they should blend well with Gaia’s kingdom. During Gaia’s day Gehenna was only divided into Sky and Earth; Inari is not of the current Earth Kingdom, but is a spirit of the land and an inheritor of Gaia’s kingdom not Uranus’.”

“Right, of course,” Izumo said as she quickly retrieved one of her seals. From her tone it was clear she was chastising herself for not having thought of it on her own.

Durov smiled at her. “We wouldn’t have a training period if you knew it all from day one,” she pointed out. “This isn’t a normal training mission, you’re here because of your connection with Moriyama-san and Shima-san; but you four are still Exwires. You’re still learning.” 

Once the foxes spirits had dispersed, Angel turned to the group. “Lets move out people,” he announced. “Remember, from here on we are in hostile territory. Try not to lose your supplies but if need-be your packs all have quick-release mechanism if we get in a battle.”

“We don’t actually expect a fight,” Wang interjected. “I’d advise you not to initiate hostilities. Thus far, excluding the Hellenic Military and True Cross forces, Gaia has refrained from interfering with anyone choosing to evacuate from her territory. She prevented the military’s attempt to send reinforcements but did allow the reinforcements to retreat.” He gestured to the abandoned ATVs, “Abet without most of their equipment. Our best chance at making it to Delphi is to calmly and peaceably walk in; it will take about three days.” 

“We’ll be gathering intel from the refugees as we go,” Lightning added. “But speaking of learning, the rest of the time you four ought to be taking advantage of us experts.” He beckoned Konekomaru over, “I hear you’re a bit of a strategist, Miwa-san. Suguro-san, why don’t you talk with Oakley-san.” 

Without waiting to be told Rin headed for Angel. 

“Ah-ah-ah,” Lightning tsked. “You’re struggling in recitation.” He turned Rin toward Wang. 

Wang chuckled Rin’s pouty expression, “Shall we start with Matthew? I’ll recite a verse, you repeat it back to me,” he said as the nine of them started north, following what had been highway 3.

* * *

In the Illuminati base Todo walked up to one of the doctors. “Have you gotten our traitor ready?” he asked.

“Ready for what?” the doctor sniffed. “He crashed five minutes after you put him in our hands. We managed to revive and stabilize him but he’s drained. There’s not enough vital energy in him to feed a coal-tar. You told us Lucifer-sama wants him alive so we put him on life-support but alive for what?”

Todo scowled, “I barely touched the brat. Enough pain to let him know I was serious, the fear of being blinded…”

“I don’t know how he got in his current condition.” The doctor shrugged, “If Lucifer-sama wants to make an example of the traitor... Well, there’s not much excitement in executing a comatosed body but it’s probably the best use of our resources to just get on with it. If this guy has information we need then we could look into fixing him up.”

“This brat is turning into a headache,” Todo grumbled. He didn’t really want to go and explain his slight deviation from orders to Lucifer.

“We’ve seen minute improvements in his vital-energy levels; left on his own I’d say he might wake-up in five to ten years,” the doctor said. “There are ways to speed that up, but most of them require a sacrifice so we need to know if this guy is worth it.”

* * *

For the first time Shiemi found herself eager for the moment when she and Gaia would trade places.

“Yamantaka,” she said as she put a hand on the distraught demon’s arm. “I may have a way to find Renzo-kun, but I need your help.”

Yamantaka lept to his feet. “Command me,” he said.

Shiemi led him down into the chamber containing the Omphalos. “When I trade with Gaia the world is my body. If Renzo-kun’s feet touch the ground anywhere in the world I should be able to sense him. But there is so much territory to cover, I need your help, your connection with Renzo-kun to point me to him.”

“Simply tell me what I need to do,” Yamantaka requested.

Shiemi took a deep breath. “Once I’ve taken my place inside the stone, touch it and focus on Renzo. I’ll do the rest.”


	15. The Chosen

Amaimon hovered in the background, watching Gaia and waiting for the moment when Shiemi returned to her body. When the clock finished chiming six, Sheimi’s knees sagged and Amaimon leapt to catch her. He kept an arm around her while he waited for the initial disorientation to fade.

Shiemi clutched at Amaimon’s coat and buried her face against his shoulder. “I can’t reach Renzo,” Shiemi whispered. “I can sense him; he’s hurt and he’s scared, he’s all but given up. But I can’t reach him.”

Tentatively Amaimon brought up his hand to rest on Shiemi’s back. “They can’t keep him from touching the ground forever,” he offered. “They’ll slip up and you’ll find him.”

Shiemi sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “You’re right, I just have to keep trying until I find him,” she said with renewed determination.

Amaimon’s lips turned up a bit, pleased with himself for having made Shiemi better. “When you find Pink-hair I’ll go bring him home for you,” he declared.

* * *

Todo stepped inside Lucifer’s hospital room then lowered his head and waited between his peers among the Illuminati; a squat scientist and the stripe-haired captain of the guard; for the Hell King to acknowledge them.

Lucifer sat up slowly, curling his legs beneath him. A number of IV lines connected the slender blond demon to the machine that fought to restore his host-body. An Illuminati jacket hung loosely over Lucifer’s shoulders, always kept close like a child’s security blanket. After a moment Lucifer beckoned Todo forward. “Your new form suits you well Saburota,” Lucifer said. “My younger brother is jealous of his powers but I knew flames would fit you.”

Todo ignored the sound of teeth grinding from Dr Gedoin on his left. “Thank you, my lord,” he replied as he knelt at Lucifer’s bedside.

“How has your latest mission progressing my spymaster?” Lucifer asked.

‘Soften the blow with good news first or confess my failing and throw myself on his mercy right from the start?’ Todo thought to himself.

“My lord, I regret to report that, despite everything you have done for me, I am still human and imperfect,” Todo sighed lowering his head even further. “I have achieved some measure of success: we have agents within Gaia’s ranks and I expect more to come around as conditions in Delphi degrade. The mixed-bloods have been cruelly used by humanity, only a small push is needed to teach them to hate this flawed world with all their hearts.”

“As expected,” Lucifer remarked. “I have faith in your ability to find the right words to illuminate the truth of this world for them.”

“I always strive to do my best for you, Lucifer-sama,” Todo said. “The Cult of Gaia has entered into a state of armed siege against the True Cross and the ignorant masses of humanity. I precipitated this development through the use of the traitor Shima Renzo and his associate demon, Yamantaka as instructed. However, the traitor escaped into a comatose state. The precise cause of his current condition is unknown. Much to my regret, I am unable to properly present him to you for judgement.”

“Is he here?” Lucifer asked.

“Yes my Lord,” Todo said. “He has been installed in the quarantine unit at the end of the hall.”

Lucifer nodded to himself. “I will see him.” The King of Light swung his feet to the floor and stood gracefully then waited while a pair of nurses scurried to detach his IVs.

The stripe-haired captain stepped forward with a look of concern. “Lucifer-sama, this is hardly a matter worth taxing yourself over. Simply instruct us and we will deal with the traitor however you see fit.”

Lucifer frowned at her fussing. “I don’t require your advice on what is important,” he said and gestured for the nurses to continue.

Gedoin hustled forward and shoved one of the nurses aside. “Incompetent little cow,” he hissed at her. Then he turned to Lucifer with worshipful eyes. “Please, Lucifer-sama, allow me to attend you.” Lucifer gave him a disinterested wave of acknowledgement and Gedoin took over carefully freeing Lucifer from the IV lines.

Once Lucifer had buttoned up his jacket he walked down the hall to the small room where Renzo lay with his three subordinates trailing after him. The pink-haired boy had one wrist handcuffed to the frame of his bed, but it seemed an unnecessary precaution given the ventilator and the steady, mechanical whoosh of air being forced into his lungs.

Lucifer listened attentively as the doctor explained Renzo’s prognosis. “We have observed unusual spikes in the recovery of his energy. From ten to midnight every day, he experiences a leap forward, this makes it difficult to properly estimate his recovery time,” the doctor finished.

The King of Light walked over to the bed and peered down at Renzo for several moments. “Quite creative,” Lucifer declared as he straightened. “Yamantaka has leave to take his life-energy without restraint in defense of his life. He must have assumed that such a stipulation would protect him from any consequences of his bargain while maximizing Yamantaka’s powers. Given my little brother’s boundless hatred of humanity I’m surprised that the traitor wasn’t drained to this level years ago. Iblis would greatly enjoy the irony of using a human’s attempt at cleverness to render them little more than a renewable energy source for a demon.”

Lucifer looked thoughtful for a moment. “If it takes him a decade to recover, it takes a decade,” he declared. “Ten years is less than an eye-blink to one such as I. He will receive what he is due for his treachery once he wakes.”

“But what’s the point?” the doctor burst out. “Why bother keeping a traitor alive?”

Lucifer blinked at the man, surprised to have been questioned. He took a moment to gather his thoughts then said, “Many of your religions speak of a chosen few who will ascend to a realm beyond death or sadness. The obvious error would seem to be in the plethora of selection criteria that exist; it is not. The one aspect upon which every last one of them is wrong is how this paradise comes into being. Simply put, there are too many human souls. Once their number is decreased to a sustainable population there will be no more need for death or suffering and they will cease.”

“Demons exist to winnow souls. We each have our own criteria as to which souls are worthy. However, the burden of proof is upon us; before we can eliminate a soul which is nothing but a burden on Assiah we must test it and prove that it is wanting,” Lucifer tilted Renzo’s chin back and studied his features for a moment. “This one was given the opportunity to join my chosen and he threw it in my face. However, my promises are not so lightly given. Because he holds an unfulfilled promise from my lips I cannot touch his soul. To kill him now would be to allow his soul to return to the cycle of death and rebirth. And so I have decreed that he will live… until my promise is redeemed and his soul belongs to me.”

Lucifer turned away from Renzo and casually broke the doctor’s neck. “Perhaps in his next life he will find the wisdom not to question me,” he said dispassionately as the corpse fell at his feet.

* * *

The land around the shattered remains of National Road 3 was a riot of color. Everywhere Rin looked he saw meadows with a profusion of wild flowers broken by occasional stands of seedlings. Wang paused to examine one of the groves as they hiked through it. “Assuming they started growing yesterday, there’s going to be a grove of redwoods here to rival Yosemite's Mariposa Grove in a month,” he remarked.

One of Izumo’s foxes trotted back to them. “A group of people are working on one of the houses up ahead,” it reported. “I don’t think they’re evacuating.”

“Thank you,” Izumo said. “That’s important information.” The little fox sat up on it’s haunches and preened at Izumo’s compliment.

“Would you lead us there?” Lightning asked. He turned to Angel. “It’s even more important to know who’s planning to stay.”

“You’re in charge of determining what information matters,” Angel deferred.

Under the fox’s guidance they detoured off the main thoroughfare by several kilometers and crested a small ridge. There was a man cutting an older tractor free of vines while several other people busily scrapped plants off the walls a large farmhouse and applied a fresh coat of paint to discourage regrowth.

“Any of you speak Greek?” Lightning asked the Exwires and Konekomaru tentatively raised his hand. “Good, good. You can come along and help Wang and I gather information.” Lightning decreed.

While the other six exorcists waited for them to return Izumo summoned Uke and Mike. The two foxes looked around in wonder, “Ohhh, it feels good here,” Mike declared

“Good how?” Izumo demanded.

“You feel it too,” Uke said. “The land is fertile, the earth has renewed itself.”

Mike pressed up against Izumo and asked quietly, “Are you sure we’re on the right side Izumo-chan? With Gaia as our ally, our homeland could be purified in no time.”

Izumo shook her head. “Tsukumo first; until she’s safe I can’t go against them.”

Thirty minutes later those capable of conversing in Greek returned. “He says he woke up and his tired old farm had become the garden of Eden, why would he leave,” Lightning reported.

“Do they understand that this land has been claimed by powerful demon?” Angel demanded.

“They know about Gaia,” Lightning replied, “but he says his family worshipped her thousands of years ago and maybe it was a mistake to stop.”

“This is one of the larger farm houses in the area,” Konekomaru added. “And the septic tank survived the initial upheaval intact so several of the neighboring families are planning on congrating here. They have younger children out looking for seeds from marketable crops to plant nearby. They plan on using the tractor to haul their crops out of Gaia’s territory for sale.”

“There are eighteen people planning to reside at this site, eight adults and ten children,” Wang reported. “They are aware of perhaps seventy other people who are planning on staying in the area. They are setting up shrines to Gaia and are organizing a pilgrimage to Delphi to determine what they need to do to ensure Gaia’s favor. Judging from what we’ve heard so far and given the current state of communications in the area I would estimate, roughly, that the population density for the region will drop from thirty people per square kilometer to under ten; around 200,000 people displaced.”

Rin’s mouth thinned as he thought about the refugees struggling to make their way out of Gaia’s territory, most with only what little of their possessions they could carry out with them.

“If this group is representative of those remaining, a population of roughly 75,000 is reviving the worship of Gaia and is moving quickly to formalize it,” Wang continue. “Active worshipers will solidify Gaia’s hold on this land, even beyond what her history already grants her. It may already be too late to exorcise her influence from the land using traditional methods, in a month, I guarantee it will be too late to remove her without reducing this region to a lifeless husk.”

* * *

The unnatural wop-wop of helicopter blades shattered the evening stillness over Delphi. Within the Sanctuary the children stared up at the sky fearfully until their minders shooed them inside. Neuhaus walked out to the center of the ancient amphitheater on the south edge of the ancient Delphi. He waved to draw the pilot’s attention and once the helicopter turned in his direction he moved to the edge of the theatre and waited to see if the pilot would land.

The helicopter hovered a meter off the ground and a uniformed man with a megaphone leaned out. “Cult of Gaia, this is Alexandros Kokinos, General of the Hellenic Armed Forces. You have seventy-two hours to release your hostages and resume peaceful negotiations.”

Neuhaus cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back. “You opened fire. Your General Floros put a gun to our priestess’ head. A member of our council has been kidnapped. We have evidence that he was held prisoner within your camp. We ARE willing to talk but you MUST acknowledge your own culpability in the current situation.”

The helicopter rose without giving Neuhaus a response. It moved off to hover over one of the surrounding camps . “All civilians should immediately vacate the area,” the general announced. “Processing stations have been established at all out-going roads. Make your way to one as soon as possible.” A recording of the same message repeated in several other languages.

While the helicopter continued broadcasting it’s message Neuhaus met up with Gaia and the rest of the council at the Apollo Temple. “The good news is they didn’t take pot shots at me,” he said. “The bad news is they’re probably planning on bombing us in three days, once they’ve given people a chance to evacuate.”

“Bombing?” Gaia asked.

“Flying devices like the one that was just here drop explosives on us or long range projectiles are fired at us from outside of your territory,” Neuhaus explained.

Gaia’s eyes narrowed. “Convince Shiemi to fully unleash my powers and I will destroy all their ground facilities. But I can do little against aerial assault. In my era there was the Kingdom of Earth and the Kingdom of Sky. Within the domain of Earth my power is near absolute but Uranus and I were not allies when last we met and I can do nothing within his sphere of influence.”

Michelle rubbed her temples. “We’re going to need bomb-shelters,” she said. “Not deep ones, fortunately. Once the bombs hit earth you’ll be able to neutralize most of the force.” She looked to Gaia for confirmation and the Earth Goddess nodded. “But quite a few types of bombs are designed to detonant prior to impact. With the True Cross working in collusion with a standard military we can expect payloads that specifically target demons; the kids will be highly vulnerable.”

Neuhaus glanced around the group. “We can’t undo the damage that has been done. Because Shiemi-san was the power behind our attack there has been almost no loss of life thus far but we destroyed at least one major city and several dozen smaller townships. Even if Gaia withdraws back to Delphi that won’t change.”

“I will not retreat,” Gaia stated. “Ask a butterfly to return to it’s cocoon and you will get the same answer. Many welcome my return to this land.”

“We need to resume talks,” Tapa stressed.

“We can’t release our prisoners,” Michelle said. “It’s as good as admitting we over-reacted when we learned Renzo had been taken. I don’t think we can afford to back down until they’ve made an effort to prove their innocence; our position is too weak if they refuse to admit Renzo was held prisoner within the bounds of their camp and that we had reason to suspect their involvement in his kidnapping.”

“We could point them toward the Illuminati at the least,” Tapa said, frustrated.

“Be easier if they were listening to anything we say,” Neuhaus grumbled.

* * *

It was dark, the pain was gone but so was the world. He was floating in an ocean of nothing.

_//Renzo? Renzo?//_

The tiny, insistent voice was familiar and carried with it the promise of warmth that the nothingness lacked. The voice wasn’t always with him, but it always came back, it never gave up on him even when he couldn’t find the energy to do more than turn his eyes - Did he have eyes? A body? Was he still alive? - toward it.

_//Renzo?//_

The voice was afraid for him and he didn’t like that. That voice was supposed to laugh and smile, he didn’t like the worry that permeated it because of him. For the voice he found the strength to struggle, to reach back. He wanted to tell the voice that he was okay, not to worry. It might be a lie, but he lied all the time anyway.

_//Renzo?//_

He remembered that the voice didn’t like it when he hid himself from her. She didn’t like his masks, she wanted to know him. That was good, he didn’t have the energy left to maintain a mask. He was tired of trying to be whoever he was told to be. Becoming a spy had seemed so simple; what was one more layer of masks when he was never himself anyway?

Had he ever been himself? Even in his own head? How could he be himself when it turned out that he didn’t even know who he was. He lied and they lied until there was nothing left of him but layers and layers of fiction with nothing underneath.

_//Renzo?//_

He felt like himself with her and she was calling him home. Renzo struggled back from the nothing.

He blinked, nothing came into focus. Bright. Cold. Beeping. Something shoved down his throat gagging him. Not the world the voice promised. Panicked, he struggled against everything. Falling. Arm twisting. Pain lancing through him. Hard. Screaming alarms.

**//Renzo! Found you!//**

Vines forced their way up through the floor in the Illuminati infirmary and curled lovingly around Renzo’s body, encasing him in a cocoon of greenery. The pain faded. The vines nearest Renzo withered as their energy was transferred to him. //This is all I can do,// Shiemi’s voice sounded frustrated and so terribly distant. //I’m sorry. Hang on just a little while longer. Help is coming.//

It took the Illuminati almost a day to hack through the vines sheltering Renzo. By the time they managed it all that was left of his injuries was a fading scar on his stomach.


	16. Maneuvering for Advantage

“I found him,” Shiemi said as she recovered from the disorientation of trading places with Gaia.

“Where?” Amaimon asked.

“Japan. Yamantaka is waiting at the Omphalos. Juuzo-san will want to come, we’ll collect him and our supplies and go. Renzo is counting on us,” Shiemi finished with determination. 

She headed out into the main room where Echidna and several others were trying to persuade a group of the children to move their things down the new stairs in the corner of the room to the underground bomb shelter that had been built. “You are Gaia’s grandchildren, the Earth is your heritage, you should not fear it simply because some humans misappropriated a cave system for their demented use,” Echidna lectured. The children eyed her and the stairs dubiously.

“I found Renzo,” Shiemi repeated. 

Juuzo, Mamushi and Michelle hurried over. 

Shiemi took a deep breath. “It was the True Cross, he’s in Japan, the Greek army wouldn’t have taken Renzo to Japan.”

Mamushi frowned, while the information did seem to clear the Hellenic Military it didn’t eliminate the possibility that the Illuminati had been involved. She wondered if anyone had gotten around to telling Shiemi about their suspicions that a third party may have set them all up.

“Amaimon, Yamantaka and I are going after him.” Shiemi turned to Juuzo, “Will you come with us?”

“You can’t leave,” Michelle said.

“But-” Shiemi protested.

“You are Gaia’s conduit, if you leave it will compromise our ability to protect the children,” Michelle said. Then she glanced away. “And wherever you stand Gaia’s Kingdom will take root.”

“I can’t ever leave,” Shiemi realized. She looked stunned.

Amaimon squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “I’ll bring Pink-hair home for you,” he promised.

“We,” Juuzo corrected firmly.

* * *

Angel led the party of exorcists over a pass shortly after dawn on their third day of hiking. They found themselves looking down on a lush river valley. A number of red roofs poked through the profusion of green. “Livadeia,” Wang said. “Capital of the region, population of over 30,000… Up until two days ago.”

Bon frowned. “From here the city looks more overgrown than the towns we passed earlier.”

Lightning hummed thoughtfully.

Cautiously the nine exorcists made their way down the shattered road to the city. The closer they got to the city, the larger the trees became until they stood in a mature forest which had overtaken the city. The buildings still stood but they were visibly crumbling under the pressure of the roots invading them. The streets and sidewalks were crowded with trees. Cars had been stopped in their tracks by the sudden eruption of plant-life and left abandoned. Household belongings had been dragged outside then left behind when their owners realized they had no way to carry them with them. 

“This is what comes of demons in Assiah,” Angel remarked with a scowl at the decimated city. After seeing all the refugees fleeing the area none of the exwires had the energy to remind Angel that Rin was a demon and their friend. Even after they left the devastated city behind an uncomfortable quiet lingered among the exorcists. 

Several hours later Konekomaru couldn’t take the silence any longer. “I’m certain that’s a tropical species,” he said. 

“It’s pretty?” Rin replied uncertainly.

“This region should have a Mediterranean Climate,” Konekomaru explained. “But I’ve seen alpine pines and banyan trees growing within a few miles of each other.”

Rin shrugged, “Shiemi-chan said the Garden of Amahara contained every planet. I guess she found it.”

“More like she created it,” Izumo said.

“Recreated,” Lightning corrected meandering over to join the exwires. “Call it the Garden of Amahara or Eden, your friend’s brought it back into our world and while it might have been a nice place in it’s own time it’s not compatible with the modern world.”

“We saw,” Bon said shortly. “Was our trek through Livadeia for your edification or for ours?”

“Both,” Lightning replied. “What we saw in the townships we passed through,” he shrugged. “They’re going to have to make adjustments: generators instead of power lines, off road vehicles, maybe even revert to using pack-animals, but given the overwhelming fertility of land within Gaia’s sphere of influence it might very well be a net positive for anyone willing to adapt. But the city? It doesn’t look like Gaia’s got any room for cities in her kingdom.”

* * *

That evening the nine exorcists stood before the outermost wall of thorns surrounding Delphi. Rin immediately started toward a narrow gap in the hedge. Angel grabbed his shoulder hauled him back. “Have you any sense? We could all die in seconds within that thing,” the paladin said crossly.

“It’s Shiemi-chan,” Rin replied. “She won’t hurt us.”

“You don’t know how much of her is still the Shiemi you knew,” Durov warned. “You saw my brother. I was his beloved baby sister, but now he barely knows who I am.” 

“Shall we make a few preparations before we knock on the door?” Lightning suggested 

Angel nodded, “Hostile terrain formation.”

“Just remember, we’re going to try to negotiate,” Lightning said with a side-long grin at Angel. 

Wang directed Bon and Konekomaru to station themselves at the center of their formation along with Oakley. “Follow my lead on barriers,” he instructed. “We need to guard against attack from below most rigorously. Lightning will signal us if negotiations fail.” After a moment’s consideration he said, “I’m not sure if I need to warn you against jumping the gun or against hesitating after the signal’s given.”

“Don’t do either,” Oakley interjected briskly. “We’re the True Cross’ best, trust us to know our jobs and follow our lead.”

“I understand you have formed contracts with some kamaitachi,” Durov said to Izumo. “If we fight they’ll be your best offensive weapon against the Earth Kingdom. Along with Oakley and the knights you’ll be our claws, the Arias, Lightning and I will handle our defense.”

“Let Angel do the talking,” Lightning told Rin quietly as he gestured for the knight-hopeful to take a position on Angel’s left while he took the Paladin’s right flake. The three of them were positioned slightly ahead of the other six exorcists. “Let’s knock.” 

Durov pricked her finger and pressed the blood to a paper seal. “Children of Stribog, spirits of wind, I beseech you, give us fair footing in this hostile land.” The paladin and archknights didn’t so much as shift as their feet rose off the ground supported only by swirling winds. The exwires tried to match their elders’ nonchalance.

“Followers of Gaia!” Angel shouted. “I am Arthur Auguste Angel, Paladin of the True Cross. I am here to determine the fate of our fifty missing Exorcists and that of the missing Hellenic Army battalion. Will you cooperate?”

“We know who you are Paladin Angel,” Neuhaus replied coldly. Along with Shiemi and Michelle he stood on a platform that had formed at the top of the bramble wall. “I hear that you’ve been working out of the Tokyo Branch lately so maybe you can explain how our kidnapped knight ended up in Japan.”

Rin edged forward, his eyes locked on Shiemi’s hands as she twisted them together in agitation, ignoring Lightning’s instructions and Neuhaus he called, “Shiemi-chan, what’s wrong?”

“They took him,” Shiemi exclaimed. “Rin, everyone, they took Renzo, they hurt him. Why would the Greek army take him back to Japan, it’s the True Cross, they took him.” 

Angel glanced back at Lightning, “Do you have any idea what they’re going on about?” 

“Well, generally speaking, they seem to be accusing us of kidnapping,” Lightning shrugged. “Apparently they think the True Cross is the only organization with an outpost in Japan.”

“Ahh, good. I thought I might be missing something,” Angel said.

Shiemi glared at Angel venomously. “Rin, why are you with him? He cut off your foot. He tried to kill Michelle. The True Cross, they were the ones behind-” Neuhaus squeezed Sheimi’s shoulder, cutting her off before she could reveal that the children had been rescued from a True Cross weapon’s lab. “They keep from getting more help for the kids, they spy on us. The kids here are just kids, but you know what the True Cross is like. Rin, you know how the Grigori treats you, you should be on my side. Ryuji-kun, Konekomaru-kun, they took Renzo, he’s been your friend since you were little kids, help me get him back. Izumo-chan, please?”

Rin looked back and forth between the trio on the wall and his group. “This is stupid, we didn’t kidnap Renzo so lets help them get him back then we can figure out how to fix…” Rin trailed off, swept a hand in the direction from which they’d come, ‘all that.’

“Wish it were that simple kid,” Neuhaus said as Angel pulled Rin back into formation. 

“It would be nice if we could put aside all the posturing and just get down to business,” Lightning said. “But as much as I could say we didn’t kidnap your knight and mean it for everyone standing here, even swear a blood-oath that I meant it, it would still take a little checking before you’d believe it wasn’t another division of the True Cross behind it.” 

“The True Cross has it’s fingers in business that even Mephisto Pheles doesn’t catch wind of,” Neuhaus replied. “It would be easy enough for the lot of you to sound innocent simply because you’re ignorant.”

“But I’m pretty nosy and an archknight,” Lightning replied. “If my contacts don’t know anything, would that be worth a little trust?”

* * *

“So what now?” Bon asked as they walked away from the bramble wall. Up ahead they could hear Rin complaining to anyone who would listen about how they were wasting time assigning blame when they should be rushing to Renzo’s rescue. Bon scowled darkly, “The True Cross better not have actually kidnapped him,” he told Lightning.

“First things first,” Lightning replied with a small smile. “I’d like to know if Moriyama-san is off base with her accusations or not. Either way there’s the small matter of conquered territory and a captive army to be resolved, but the answer will change our approach.”

“It’s possible then, the True Cross might have taken him?” Bon’s voice gained a hard edge. 

“Anything’s possible,” Lightning replied. “Just remember, we’re here to end this with the fewest number of casualties possible. Given that there are a bunch of kids on the other side of that wall, I’d personally consider it a win if that’s fewest possible on both sides.” 

Bon nodded. “Yeah, a win. Do your superiors agree with your definition though?”

Lightning shrugged. “They’re not here, does it really matter what they think?” He smirked, “Once it’s resolved they’ll have to live with our solution because as Paladin, in the field, Angel’s entitled to make binding promises for the entire True Cross.”

“Really?” Bon asked dubiously.

“An organization can’t negotiate with demons unless their envoy’s word is binding for the whole,” Lightning pointed out.

“Not what I was doubting,” Bon said. “Does the True Cross really want to negotiate or are we here to find a way to exorcise Gaia?”

“I’m still evaluating the situation,” Lightning replied. “If Gaia intends to continue expanding her kingdom we might not have a choice, but if we can negotiate an oath to establish firm boundaries for her territory… Well, you heard Zi on what it would likely take to exorcise her. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.”

“Does the Grigori agree?” Bon pressed.

“The Grigori would have sent Angel alone if they wanted a blood bath,” Lightning told him quietly. “Arthur follows his orders even when he doesn’t like them. When I can, when I have to, I moderate his orders enough that they don’t break him. The Grigori lets me because he really is that good. They don’t want to lose him for something stupid.” Lightning nodded toward Rin, “Arthur’s the first Paladin they’ve had since your friend’s foster-dad who was worth the title; because Fujimoto scared the living daylights out of them. They pushed him too far and he could have brought down the entire True Cross if he hadn’t been busy raising kids.”

“You’re friend Moriyama scares them too. If they’d told Arthur to go up against Gaia, he would have and by the time he was dead there would have been too many casualties for either side to back down. But the gap between Angel falling and the True Cross sending reinforcements could turn this into armageddon. So they sent all five of us. Gaia is Gaia,” Lightning tilted his head to the side and grinned, “that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t win if we fight. But the rest of us, Zi exempted - mostly, don’t follow orders quite so well as Angel. On top of that Tereza and I have questionable loyalties, while Annie’ll tell you she’s a ‘stubborn cuss’. Still, we’re the best and the Grigori wants the use of us even if they don’t trust us. That’s why Angel’s Paladin and we’re not, he’s supposed to keep us in line. ‘Course by this point we’ve had years to get Angel used to us being a bit creative about how we follow orders and there’s damn little the Grigori can do about it without getting rid of all five of us.”

“If there’s a way we can all back away from the brink here, we’ll take it and the Grigori will have to be happy that the world didn’t end.” He slapped Bon on the shoulder. “Which is why we brought you four along. Talented as you are you’re only exwires, there are plenty who’d be better back up in a fight. What makes you four special is that you can help us NOT fight.” 

“Okay,” Bon sighed. “Even if the True Cross is behind one of my oldest friends being kidnapped, I’ll support you as long as you’re going for a bloodless resolution here. But don’t think I’ll forget it.” 

The nine exorcists set up their tents just out of sight of the bramble hedge. While Lighting started radioing his contacts Durov passed around a stack of MREs. 

Rin gave the brown plastic bags a dirty look as he broke seal on the chemical packet to start it heating. “How do you get anything done being so- so paranoid,” he snapped. 

Angel sat down beside Rin. “Once we know what’s going on we’ll do what we can about your friend.”

Rin refused to look at Angel. He jabbed at his food angrily instead.

“I am sorry about your foot,” Angel offered tentatively. “At the time it seemed an appropriate course of action. You were a demon-”

“Still am.”

“No, you’re an asset to the True Cross, my student,” Angel disagreed.

Rin sighed, “I guess it’s nice that you don’t want to hurt me now that you’ve gotten to know me. How long will it be before we can go after Renzo?”

“It will depend on what Lightning finds and how reasonable Gaia’s followers are,” Angel replied.

That night, after he was supposed to have gone to bed, Rin slipped past their sentry and headed back to the bramble wall. For a moment he hesitated in front of the gap in the hedge, Angel and Durov’s warnings echoing in his ears. “It’s Shiemi, she’s not going to hurt anyone,” Rin told himself. Then his shoulders slumped. He switched Kurikara to his spare sheathe and repressed his flames until only his eyes glowed. 

Rin stepped into the thorny tunnel.

* * *

Lightning adjusted the focus on his binoculars. “His heart’s still unsealed; see he does listen to you.”

Angel held Caliburn at the ready as he watched Rin disappear into the opening in the hedge. “If Okumura listened he wouldn’t have gone… And your plan counted on him going.”

“He is being cautious, giving weight to your warnings, even though it’s probably tearing him up to be suspicious of Moriyama-san,” Lightning said, “still, he trusts his friends, worries about them, he couldn’t not go. Us adults are playing silly political games while one of his friend is in trouble. Another friend has the answers he needs, so he’s going to go ask her straight out what’s going. ”

“I would enjoy a world where simply saying what one means actually worked,” Angel replied. “Then perhaps I wouldn’t have to rely so heavily on you.”

“But what place would I have in such a world?” Lightning asked teasingly. 

“You are capable of being forthright, when you chose to exert yourself,” Angel replied. Then he added, “It is mildly disconcerting that you find the unembellished truth more challenging that fabrications.”

A lop-sided grin graced Lightning’s face. 

“Moriyama-san is young and idealistic too, she’ll talk to Okumura-kun. He might want to rush straight off to rescue Shima-san, but he won’t; Suguro-kun is still with us. Suguro-kun might be young, but he’s already had a crash course in playing politics,” Lightning explained. “Moriyama-san and Okumura-kun might be totally focused on Shima-san’s plight, but Suguro-kun won’t forget that there’s a bigger picture to consider. Okumura-kun will come back and, at the least, he’ll tell Suguro-kun what Moriyama tells him. Then we’ll know.” Lightning shrugged, “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone from Gaia’s camp showed up tonight to make some unofficial overtures to us as well.”

Angel shook his head at Lightning’s convoluted reasoning, “You make me empathize with Okumura. Why must it be so impossible for two sides to simply sit down and speak openly?” he asked. 

Lightning lowered his binoculars. “Okumura-kun’s through the barrier. If Gaia were going to try to kill him tonight she would have done it by now.”

“You’re sure they won’t wait until he’s deeper in the camp, further from help?” Angel asked.

“He’ll be safely back by morning,” Lightning assured him. “Now we’d better get back to camp so Gaia’s followers can sneak their dissenter out to talk to us.” 

Reluctantly Angel sheathed his sword and turned away from the bramble hedge where Rin had vanished.

* * *

Two Illuminati soldiers bound Renzo’s hands behind his back then escorted him to the room at the other end of the hall where Lucifer rested on a pallet attended by Todo, a woman with the white bangs and a tubby, pig-faced man. Renzo’s guards shoved him forward so he fell to the floor at Lucifer’s feet. The King of Light watched patiently while Renzo managed to struggle to his knees then he put his hand on top of Renzo’s head. 

Renzo tensed, waiting to have his face smashed into the floor again but Lucifer only combed his fingers delicately through Renzo’s hair. The exwire shivered at the feel of sharp claws scraping along his scalp. “Your oath, repeat it now,” Lucifer ordered.

Renzo tilted his head back to meet Lucifer’s eyes squarely. “We will guide the world to unity,” he began. 

Reflexively Lucifer’s three lieutenants began reciting it as well. Lucifer glared at them. “Silence, he is the one I wish to hear,” he snapped at them. 

“There are no demons and no humans. Only one world,” Renzo continued in a strong voice. “In order to create it we are the brave warriors who have risen to the occasion no matter what the trial we do not go astray. We do not fear death.”

“And in return for your loyalty, I promise that death will not hold you,” Lucifer completed the pact. “Those who cleave to me will have power and a place of honor in the world that will come to be.” He cupped the back of Renzo’s head and pulled him forward until their foreheads all but touched. “Now, say your oath again.” 

“We will guide the world to unity. There are no demons and no humans, only one world. In order to create it we are the brave warriors who have risen to the occasion no matter what the trial we do not go astray,” Renzo repeated, despite his best effort his voice shook. “We do not fear death.”

“I can feel it you know,” the beautiful demon said gently. “You lied, you told Todo you thought I would fail to live up to my promise and so you were considering changing sides, but I can feel that the loyalty you swore to me belongs to another. You thought you could get away with it because the things I promised: freedom from death, power and status are yet to be realized, but I feel your readiness to stab me in the back like an itch in the base of my skull.” His claws dug into the back Renzo’s neck until an involuntary whimper forced itself from the teen’s mouth. “Little insect,” Lucifer hissed. “I should crush you underfoot right here.”

Renzo reminded himself that Shiemi was coming. He forced himself to grin despite the pain. “I resent that,” he said. “Insects? Blech!”

Lucifer released him and sat back with a pouty scowl marring his lovely face. “So you will try to explain away your sins? This is what I despise about humans; you always think your failings can be excused.”

Renzo took a deep breath and straightened. “You’re right, my first loyalty is to the group at Delphi. But that doesn’t mean that I’m disloyal to you. I have not and will not break my oath. I may not have memorized as many scripture verses as my friend Bon, but I listen more and I think more about what I read. I know where you’re coming from,” he said. “You’re second generation aren’t you? Nephilim. You were born into a brief-lived, but utopian society where humans and angels came together as equals to produced a new race greater than either alone. Only God- The Eldest, that what Mephisto calls him isn’t it? Disapproved and cast you out. I understand being angry about that, I totally get hating it when your family doesn’t value you, but Gaia isn’t your enemy. You’d approve of the sanctuary at Delphi, it’s not so different from where you grew-up. I was protecting you by refusing to start problems with her.” 

“Gaia is a naive little idiot repeating the mistakes of her ancestors,” Lucifer said with a sneer. “Because of perfidious humans like you those who trust in her will suffer the tragedies we suffered. And so I decided to put an early end to her fool’s paradise.” He went back to stroking Renzo’s hair. “I’d kill you now, but it’s true that I haven’t kept my promise to you yet.” 

Renzo swallowed harshly. “I know Persphone’s story.”

Lucifer smiled beatifically at him, “But you’ve already accepted.” The King of Light glanced over at the pig-faced man. “Dr. Gedoin, be sure we grant him the power he was promised before he dies. I don’t wish to lose his soul on a technicality.”

Gedoin beamed, “I have just the thing. I’ll start preparing him right away.”


	17. Enemy of My Enemy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. There’s been a nasty bug going around my family, I just didn’t have the energy to write until ran it’s course and my little boy’s sleep schedule returned to normal.

“Rin!” Shiemi exclaimed. She threw herself at her very first friend the moment he emerged from the hedge. “They hurt Renzo! They wouldn’t tell me where they took him but I found him anyway. I can sense him through the Earth, they’re still hurting him, worse all the time and he’s scared. I can’t go after him because of Gaia and the kids, Amaimon went with Yamantaka and Juuzo-oniisan, but I can’t.” Rin patted Sheimi’s back while the story flooded out of her: Her worry for Renzo, the strain of constantly holding Gaia’s power in check, never letting anyone see her insecurities because the safety and future of the whole sanctuary depended on her strenght. Rin’s shoulder was soaked through by the time Shiemi finished.

“We’ll get Renzo back,” Rin promised. “But I don’t think the True Cross had anything to do with it… Well, at least not Angel’s team, they’re pretty cool.”

Shiemi looked dubious. “The Paladin is awful,” she declared. “How can you trust him after what he did to you?”

“He’s not so bad once he gets to know you,” Rin explained but Shiemi didn’t look convinced. Rin gave a frustrated huff. “I spend hours with Angel almost every day but you won’t believe anything I say about him, Izumo’s always worrying that I shouldn’t trust Bon-” 

“We don’t want to see you get hurt trusting the wrong person again,” Shiemi said. She sighed, “Not that I can say much, I trusted Yukio too.”

Rin winced and started casting about for a change of subject. He had gotten used to talking about Yukio and Shiro with Tatsuma, but unlike his friends, the Myodhan priest didn’t hate his twin. With Tatsuma Rin knew he wouldn’t get yelled at because he still worried about how Yukio was doing. 

“What happened?” Rin asked. “When we were coming in, all those people who lost their homes, that’s not you Shiemi. What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Shiemi asked, alarmed and confused.

Rin’s mouth dropped open, “You don’t know? We walked three days to get here, all the roads are shattered. The houses and cars are all overgrown. There’s a whole city that’s pretty much wiped out.”

Shiemi shook her head. “I didn’t! I…” she trailed off. After a moment she continued in a softer voice. “Yamantaka was trying to rescue Renzo, but we didn’t know that. We didn’t know why he was attacking the military camp so we stopped him, while we had him distracted they took Renzo. It had only been a couple of seconds, they couldn’t have taken him far. I wasn’t in the Omphalos then so I asked Gaia to search for him, but he was already gone. I was angry; they took Renzo, their general tried to shoot me and a lot of the soldiers were shooting at anything that moved. I asked Gaia to help me put a stop to the threat. I didn’t know about what happened beyond the camp’s territory, didn’t mean for her to... Did anyone get hurt?” 

Rin quickly shook his head, not wanting Shiemi to feel bad, but having seen the refugees fleeing their homes he was compelled to add, “Not physically anyway.”

* * *

Amaimon stopped sharply when he saw a shadowy figure waiting to intercept them on the torch-lit, mystic path between world seeds. Juuzo and Yamantaka veered to either side to keep from running into him. “Bastard-ni, what are you doing here?” Amaimon demanded.

Egyn, the King of Water smiled broadly in response, his ocean-blue eyes twinkling, “I’m here to rescue my Lady’s knight, why else? Now truly I would prefer it were the damsel herself, but as Gaia is unlikely to require rescue, I shall content myself with winning a smile for the safe return of her pet human. Come along, I will graciously allow you three to assist me in this endeavor!”

Juuzo’s eyes darkened angrily at hearing Renzo described as a ‘pet’ but he held his tongue. 

“We don’t need any help from you!” Amaimon snapped.

“I have twice the power you do,” Egyn stated haughtily. 

“Do not,” Amaimon muttered.

Egyn smiled at Juuzo and Yamantaka. “You would be foolish to pin your hopes on a weakling like Amaimon when I am offering my aid. For the Lady Shiemi’s sake I am even willing to put aside my deep loathing of the Fire Kingdom, you should be overwhelmed with gratitude.” 

“We don’t need you! Don’t want you!” Amaimon hissed. “I promised Shiemi! She’s my priestess! You’ve got business getting in the middle!”

“The Lady Shiemi deserves better than you and I’m here to prove it,” Egyn declared smugly. 

Amaimon snarled deep in his chest. Here, on the path between worlds there was no terrain to favor one or the other, Egyn was much older and thus more powerful, but the earth-magic contained within Amaimon’s body was strong against water.

“Yamantaka, help me break them up,” Juuzo muttered. He glanced up at the towering demon then his breath caught. Yamantaka’s eyes were filled with blank terror. “All these years,” Juuzo muttered. “We’ve been so afraid that you’d drain Ren dry if you knew, but you’re petrified at the thought of hurting him.”

Egyn eyed Amaimon condescendingly, further inflaming the smaller demon’s temper. ‘Now or never,’ Juuzo thought. Once they entered battle a human would have to be suicidal to step between two Hell Kings. 

Juuzo tossed a pair of ofuda at the demons accompanied by a short chant to lend them power. While the charms were little more than an annoyance to the Hell Kings, the attack did get their attention. “You two want to impress Shiemi-chan? Then don’t waste Renzo’s time fighting each other. I am here to see my little brother gets home safe, you jeopardize that and I will find your fatal verses. Now do we understand each other?” Juuzo demanded.

* * *

Wang was drinking tea with a white clad Indian man when Angel and Lightning returned to the camp. “May I present Tapa Mangal,” Wang said. “He is the representative for the contingent of Jainist exorcists who have been helping to provide care for the children of Gaia.”

“Are you here officially?” Lightning asked as if getting a bothersome formality out of the way.

“Not as such,” Tapa replied. “However I would do what I can to smooth relations in an unofficial capacity.”

Along with Angel, Lightning sat down across the fire from Tapa. “I don’t know what assistance you could offer when you don’t have any real authority to negotiate on Gaia’s behalf,” he said carelessly.

“Understanding perhaps,” Tapa replied. “A word about our mutual enemy.”

“A likely story,” Angel snorted. “I, for one, do not consort with demons.” Lightning tipped his head back, giving Angel an exasperated look out of slit-pupiled eyes. Angel grimaced apologetically but almost immediately reverted to glaring accusingly at Tapa. “The True Cross has no quarrel with Greece. Gaia has unequivocally refuses to reveal where the mix-bloods come from. What other interested parties are there?”

“Todo Saburota, the instigator of the recent attack on Kyoto. He was sighted at Delphi,” Tapa said.

Angel stood up abruptly, towering over the seated Jainist Exorcist. “You saw the man most wanted by the Grigori and only now do you think to mention it?” he demanded. “Dubious sabbatical aside, you are a sworn knight of the True Cross. I should have you up on charges for such a dereliction.”

Angel’s raised voice woke the rest of the exorcist team. While the Exwires crawled out of their pup-tents blinking in confusion Oakley lay on her stomach, still in her tent but the gun in her hand was aimed squarely at the intruder and Durov crouched in the shadow of hers, loosely holding several summoning papers. Meanwhile Wang calmly offered Lightning and Angel cups of tea. Angel bluntly ignored his subordinate but Lightning spared Wang a small grin as he made a placating gesture at Angel. ”Arthur, hear the man out before making a decision.” Lightning said. He sent a sharp look in Tapa’s direction. “Maybe this is the first chance he’s had to report. We don’t know the full situation- Yet.”

“We tried to apprehend Todo,” Tapa said as Oakley and Durov’s weapon’s vanished. The two women joined the other archknights. 

“In other words you allowed him to escape,” Angel accused as he grudgingly let his hand fall from Caliburn’s hilt.

“Where’s Rin?” Bon demanded looking around the camp site.

Konekomaru stared at the group seated around the fire for a moment. “Not now,” he murmured to his friends. Izumo scowled but didn’t protest. Bon’s mouth thinned but he also let the subject of Rin’s absence drop. 

Instead Bon walked over and took a seat between Angel and Tapa. “Shima Renzo’s a close childhood friend, can you tell us what happened to him?”

Tapa looked relieved by Bon’s question. “You have to realize, the circumstantial evidence was utterly damning,” he said. “We were certain that either the True Cross, the Hellenic Army or both had taken him. But both commanders continue to claim ignorance and the evidence remains only circumstantial, even now,” he said. “And then there’s the matter of Renzo’s involvement with Todo Saburota.”

“What?” Bon exclaimed.

“Most of what I know is hearsay,” Tapa cautioned. “Several weeks ago Igor Neuhaus saw Renzo speaking with a man matching Todo’s most recent description.”

Bon shook his head. “After what that guy did to Hojo Mamushi there is no way Shima would have gotten involved with him.” 

“I wouldn’t believe anything Neuhaus Igor says,” Izumo remarked. “His instruction as a Tamer only served to weaken my bond with my familiars. And I still hold that he tried to kill us during the Exwire Exam.”

Tapa ignored Izumo to focus on Bon. “Renzo may have been involved before the attack on Kyoto,” he suggested. “If he tried to back out that could have triggered his kidnapping.”

“So you’re blaming Shima for this?” Bon demanded.

Lightning sat back and gave his teammates a subtle signal to let Bon quarrel with the older exorcist and see what they learned from it.

“We- I don’t believe the True Cross kidnapped him, anymore,” Tapa exclaimed. Lightning smirked at the man’s quick self-correction.

“I’m not the True Cross,” Bon shot back. “I’m a Myo-o-dhari Exorcist who is beginning to have some serious reservations about whether or not we can actually work with the Vatican. Don’t feed me some crap about you guys magnanimously deciding that the True Cross didn’t kidnap my friend and expect me to happy about it. What happened to Shima? Why did you think the True Cross was behind it?”

* * *

“Ku-ku-ku,” Gedoin chuckled as he tightened the straps securing Renzo to a pallet until they cut painfully into the boy’s flesh. “Wouldn’t want you getting free,” he said with a sadistic grin. 

“Can’t breathe!” Renzo exclaimed. “Not supposed to kill me! Lucifer said.”

“Don’t dirty Lucifer-sama’s name with your traitorous tongue!” Gedoin snarled. He backhanded Renzo, but after a moment’s consideration he did loosen the restraints marginally. 

Renzo sighed with relief as he felt circulation restored to his extremities. 

Gedoin’s good humor was restored as he picked up a syringe and held it up to the light. “A few years ago I wouldn’t have been able to use this, not when Lucifer-sama ordered me to keep you alive,” he said. “But thanks to me there has been much progress made. There is still an 80% failure rate among my test subjects, however I think being turned into a regenerating lump of meat is more power than a worm like you, unable to comprehend the beauty of Lucifer-sama’s plans, deserves.”

Renzo eyed the syringe fearfully but there was nothing he could do to oppose Gedoin. He shut his eyes and bit his lip as the needle broke his skin. The concoction felt like liquid nitrogen, burning cold as it rushed through his veins.

Gedoin squealed gleefully as Renzo began to convulse against the restraints. After ten minutes Renzo lay still, his breath came in panting sobs. He felt drained, as if he’d run a marathon and been simultaneously stretched on a rack. Gedoin stared down at Renzo looking conflicted. “A success,” he muttered. “How could you be worthy? Only the special ones like me should be worthy.”

“That’s me, special,” Renzo chuckled weakly. 

“You’re not special!” Gedoin ranted. “Only me, I’m the special one! You’re a fluke! Just a fluke!” After a few minutes the scientist managed to get ahold of himself again. He smirked. “I need samples to figure out the reason for this FLUKE.” He picked up a pair of medical pliers and pressed Renzo’s hand flat against the pallet then, smiling, he ripped off one of Renzo’s fingernails. While Renzo screamed Gedoin held up his gory trophy, “Hmm, not as much DNA as I’d hoped, better take another,” he said.

* * *

When Rin left the Delphi Sanctuary shortly before dawn Angel was waiting for him outside of the bramble hedge. “That was a stupid risk,” he informed Rin bluntly.

Rin shook his head vehemently. “Now you know Shiemi-chan doesn’t want to hurt anyone; that they’re serious about finding a peaceful solution if we’ll let them,” he disagreed. “I didn’t take Bon or anyone. If Gaia had attacked me…” Rin trailed off with a shrug. “Well, better me than anyone else.” 

“Lightning agrees with your assessment,” Angel admitted grudgingly. “Given your heritage you have a better than average chance of surviving walking into a trap and if you hadn’t survived your suspended writ of execution would have been an excuse to ignore your death if we chose to continue negotiations.” The Paladin scowled, “I still don’t approve of you disregarding my explicit orders.” 

“Sorry for worrying you,” Rin apologized. “But it was worth it to find out what’s really going on in there.”

For several minutes they continued walking toward the camp in silence. “I could have stopped you but as I said Lightning agreed that the risk was worthwhile. By not interfering both of us could swear you were acting on your own recognizance.” Angel sighed, “I will always loathe this sort of technical honesty; this tactical disregard for the chain of command. You are my subordinate, I am supposed to be accountable for your actions and your safety. However I’ve monopolized you long enough for my… peculiar beliefs. Lightning is waiting to debrief you so that we may maximize the benefits of your disobedience.”

Bon and Izumo pounced on Rin the moment he and Angel walked into the camp. “What were you thinking, going off on your own?” Izumo demanded. 

“Not you too,” Rin exclaimed. “Come on, this is Shiemi-chan. Since Angel and the others don’t know her that well I had to give her the chance to prove to them that she’s not out to destroy the world or anything, but you guys should have known better.”

“You weren’t sure enough to take us with you,” Bon pointed out with a frown.

Rin squirmed uncomfortably at Bon’s disapproval, “I did listen to Adapt Durov; I wasn’t a hundred percent that Shiemi’d still be Shiemi,” he admitted. “And if she wasn’t we needed to know that.”

“So,” Lightning interrupted. “What was your little friend thinking when she laid claim to 9000 square kilometers of Greece’s sovereign territory?”

“Shiemi-chan didn’t realize what she’d done. Not really, not until I told her.” Rin sighed, uncertain that he’d be believed given how little faith it seemed people had in his judgement. “Gaia was in the Omphalos when they found out Renzo’d been taken. Shiemi-chan released Gaia to search for him and to stop the fighting. She knew about what happened to the army but no one told her about Gaia taking over the country-side.” 

Angel sneered at that.

“I guess she should have known but she’s been worrying about Renzo.” Rin’s knuckles whiten as his hands tightened on his thighs. “We gotta help her save him. Gaia doesn’t care so much about Renzo, so it’s only when Sheimi’s in the Omphalos that anyone’s looking out for him. They’re still torturing him.” 

Lightning’s phone buzzed. He took a few moments to glance at the screen. “Well, you’ll all be happy to know that, at least officially, the True Cross had nothing to do with Shima Renzo’s kidnapping.”

“Yeah, that’s a great comfort right now,” Bon snarled sarcastically.

Lightning continued unperturbed. “Because knowing that, we can make an overture to show our good will. I think sending you four to rescue your friend would be a fitting gesture, don’t you?”


	18. Discord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While trying to figure out where Izumo comes from I ran across reminders that I’ve been using the anime rules for magic keys rather than the manga rules. As best as I can figure the rules are as follows:
> 
> Manga Rules - There are tight limits on how many people can use a magic key but they can go anywhere. They had to fly to Shimane because a party of six was too many for a magic key, but I infer that a smaller party could have traveled there by key because Yukio doesn’t say anything about their destination preventing them from using the keys when Rin asks.
> 
> Anime Rules - No limits on the number of people who can use a key but the keys connect specific points A & B, although Shiro had a key that could access the spot where he’d hidden Kurikara from any lock. During plotline about mending Kurikara it took eight steps to get to Kyoto (at least in one translation), I took that to mean that they couldn’t go directly from the Academy to Kyoto but had to go to seven other destinations to create a ‘path’ that linked the two locations. In the last episode six people use a key to get to Rome (Bon, Konekomaru, Shima, Izumo, Shiemi and a teacher) and Konekomaru’s plan was to bring the demons to Rome through a gate, a manga key couldn’t have taken six people, let alone allowed them to lure a significant number of demons out of the Academy. 
> 
> The rules I’m playing by are that there isn’t a limit on how many people can use a key, but Mephisto has to set up the doors at both ends of the path ahead of time. However there are special keys that access specific points from anywhere, but those will have a very low limit on the number of people who can use them.

There was a palpable look of relief on Shiemi’s face when Angel proposed their ‘conciliatory gesture’. “Renzo’s being held southwest of Kyoto…” she began.

And just like that the ground fell out from beneath Izumo’s feet. Because Shiemi was sending them to Inari’s temple in Shimane, to her home. The people who took Renzo were the same ones who were holding her little sister hostage.

“Okay, lets go,” Rin declared impatiently. Anticipating Shiemi’s agreement the four exwires were already packed for the hike back to Thebes.

“Think you can make it back in two days?” Lightning asked. Bon nodded firmly. “I’ll have a car waiting at the edge of Gaia’s territory. You can gate from Athens to Rome then from Rome to Tokyo. From Tokyo you’ll have an hour and a half flight to Shimane. Do your best to get a little sleep during the drive and on the flight because I doubt you’ll listen when I tell you to rest up before going after your friend.”

Shiemi turned to Michelle, “Couldn’t they take the Paths between World Seeds?”

Michelle shook her head. “The Paths can only be opened by a Gehenna King or an even stronger demon.” At that Lightning glanced thoughtfully at Rin but Michelle wasn’t finished. “It wouldn’t save them time anyway. Remember, Sir Pheles’ gates are instantaneous and the Paths connecting the World Seeds can be lengthy. While Japan’s Mount Fuji is not so distant as the headwaters of the Amazon it is not a short path. If they push themselves they may actually make-up much of Juuzo-san’s lead.” 

“Shiemi, we’ll get Renzo back,” Rin assured her.

“Hopefully Juuzo’s staying in contact with his dad so we can join forces,” Bon muttered as the four of them started off.

Once the exwires had taken their leave, Angel resumed negotiations “We have attested that your retainer is not being held by the True Cross,” he stated. “It is the Grigori’s official position that they know nothing of his kidnapping and I think we all know that even if those four find a True Cross installation at the location you specified they will still make every effort to rescue Shima Renzo. So shall we discuss the release of your hostages?”

“Is the True Cross planning on bombing us out of existence the moment we do?” Neuhaus asked bluntly.

“No. The True Cross’ priority is Assiah, not your hostages. If the five of us conclude that you are a threat the presences of your hostages will not stay our hand,” Angel replied coolly. “However, that is not our first choice of responses. We would prefer to end this bloodlessly.”

“Good to hear,” Neuhaus grunted. “Now has anyone explained to the Greek government that bombing us would be an extremely poor decision?”

 

“Is that a threat?” Angel asked. He and Neuhaus glowered at each other.

* * *

On the other side of the globe the Illuminati guards dragged Renzo into a cell and deposited the limp teen on a pallet in the corner of the room. 

After a time Renzo stirred weakly, he cradled his mangled hand to his chest then clumsily rolled off the pallet. “Shiemi?” Renzo called, leaning his forehead against the floor of the cell. “Shiemi? Yamantaka? Please? It hurts. I’m trying to hold on but it hurts.” He lay there for several hours, calling out for Shiemi or Yamantaka in a small voice every now and then. Shortly after nine o’clock that night delicate green sprouts forced their way up through cracks in the floor of the cell. Quickly the sprouts matured into vines that snaked their way to the corner where Renzo lay. Gently the vines twined themselves through his fingers, squeezing reassuringly as they set to mending the damage Gedoin had done. “You came for me,” Renzo whispered, a faint smile illuminating his face as more and more vines filled the cell, winding protectively around him.

The next morning Gedoin and the woman with the white striped hair stood outside the cell, barred from entering by a solid wall of greenery. “I thought your lot warded the place against those things,” Gedoin accused.

The woman gave a frustrated sigh, “Apparently our wards weren’t strong enough to stymie Gaia. I will remind you that I recommended moving him to our flying fortress because it may not be possible to keep Gaia out of an underground facility.”

“Your incompetence isn’t my problem,” Gedoin spat. “I’m not going disrupt all my experiments and move all my precious equipment to make your life easier. Keeping my laboratory secure is your job.” 

“It won’t take long to burn him out,” the woman replied. “They’re the same sort of vines that Gaia used previously and they begin losing strength after midnight. But if you refuse to take my recommendations into account there is only so much I can do to secure your facility.” 

Inside the cocoon, Renzo could hear them getting closer. Shiemi hadn’t been able to maintain her presence beyond the three hours when she resided in the Omphalos and without her will sustaining the vines they could only delay the Illuminati. But during the time she had, Shiemi had healed Renzo’s wounds and purified his blood of everything Gedoin had injected into him. And Renzo had renewed his resolve to hold out against his captors until help could arrive, which meant finding a way to keep Lucifer from fulfilling his promise. Within the leafy green cocoon Renzo considered his options and planned his next move. He hoped he was right about Gedoin’s personality, that the mad scientist would have kept the details of his research to himself to make himself less replaceable and that he’d be as easy to antagonize as Renzo thought. 

When the last of the vines wilted under the malevolent glow of a Seraphim’s light Renzo rolled to his feet and calmly walked out of the cell with a smug expression on his face. The guards handcuffed him and attached leash to the collar around his neck before escorting him down the hall to Gedoin’s lab. 

Renzo tried not to look at the zombie strapped to the table where he’d been the day before. The thing wore a hospital gown and had a collar around it’s neck with a number on it, dressed exactly like Renzo had been since waking up in this place. The queasy feeling in Renzo’s stomach told him that was one of Gedoin’s failures, what the mad scientist had expected him to become. He took a deep breath and put his plan into action.

Renzo flexed his fingers drawing attention to the lack of damage and grinned. “I’ve been assured that _everything_ you did has been reversed,” he said. “Would you pass a message on to Todo for me? Tell him it looks like I chose my loyalties pretty well.” He gave Gedoin an innocent look, “Or do you think Lucifer’d go to this much trouble to protect you?”

Gedoin attacked Renzo in a blind rage. He kicked and punched the boy with furious abandon. Renzo went down under the assault but didn’t attempt to do more than shield himself until the guards, sick of catching misaimed blows, stepped away. The moment they backed off Renzo kicked Gedoin’s legs out from under him. Then he threw himself on top of the squat scientist and dug his thumbs into Gedoin’s throat, trying to crush the man’s windpipe before the guards regained control of him.

Without much enthusiasm the two guards grabbed Renzo and pulled him off of Gedoin. Renzo’s shoulders sagged in disappointment when Gedoin drew a shaky breath. 

For a few minutes the scientist lay on the ground clutching his bruised throat as he coughed and wheezed. Eventually he crawled to his feet and glared hatefully at Renzo. Then his gaze strayed to the metal beams supporting the roof and he chuckled evilly. “Get me some rope, morons,” he told the guards. “Nylon, none of that natural stuff.”

“You sure you can handle the kid if we leave?” One of the guards asked with a snicker.

“Do I have to do all the thinking!” Gedoin shouted. “Strap him to the table first. If what he says is true I have to start his treatments over again thanks to that bitch Gaia.”

Renzo fought with every trick he knew, but ten minutes later he’d been secured to the pallet. Viciously Gedoin stabbed him with a hypodermic needle. Renzo bit his lip but refused to give the mad scientist the satisfaction of hearing him cry out. “You’re going to pay for that you stupid brat,” Gedoin hissed as he drew a sample of Renzo’s blood. 

By the time Gedoin had verified that Renzo’s body had been purified and finished repeating the ‘treatment’, the guards had returned with the rope. Gedoin smiled nastily. “Tie his arms behind his back, then string him up,” he ordered nodding toward the beams.

After binding Renzo’s wrists behind his back the guard tossed the free end of the rope over one of the roof beam and started pulling. Renzo gasped as his feet left the ground, his weight straining his shoulders almost to the point of dislocation. The guards continued hauling him upward until Renzo was dangling half-way between the ceiling and floor. Gedoin smirked, “Let’s see Gaia help you now.”

* * *

As the hours and miles wore on the four exwires gradually spread out into a line. Bon marched toward Thebes with a grim expression, his long legs setting a punishing pace. Rin bounded along behind him, the oversized pack on his back not phasing him in the slightest. Izumo trailed after the two of them, lost her own thoughts. At the back Konekomaru fought to keep from falling behind; smaller and less athletic than the other three, still he refused to ask Bon to ease up on the pace of their forced march.

Eventually Izumo came out of her funk long enough to notice Konekomaru’s difficulties. “We’ll do Shima a lot of good if you march us into the ground before we even get halfway there,” she snapped at Bon.

“I think we’re already about halfway back,” Rin said then noticed Konekomaru staggering after them, his eyes glazed with exhaustion. “We should stop for a breather, grab some food and water,” he suggested.

Konekomaru dropped his pack then leaned his weight on his thighs gasping for breath. Rin hurried over and dug the smaller boy’s canteen out of his pack then held it out to him. After a few minutes Konekomaru accepted it with a grateful look.

“And you’re supposed to be some sort of leader,” Izumo sneered at Bon. “Konekomaru-kun doesn’t have demon blood like Rin or I and he’s not a gorilla like you. Worrying about Shima doesn’t excuse ignoring your teammate’s capabilities.”

“Do you get off on criticizing me?” Bon snapped.

“Cut it out you two,” Konekomaru said in a quiet breathless voice. “We’re all worried. This doesn’t help.”

Bon and Izumo looked away from each other, guilty and silent. The four of them dug out MREs and ate quickly. 

“If we stick to a more reasonable pace can you keep going through the night?” Bon asked Konekomaru after they finished eating.

“I could probably carry you,” Rin offered.

“I’ll have you guys leave me behind before I’d let myself be that much of a burden,” Konekomaru told Rin frankly. “But I don’t have so much pride that I’d object to you taking my pack.”

Rin nodded, he grabbed Konekomaru’s pack and emptied the gear into his own then he rolled up the bag and stuffed it on top. 

Then they set out again. This time with Konekomaru setting the pace. 

After the last light of the day was lost and the ground beneath their feet was lost in darkness Rin took a deep breath, reaching for his powers. He let his tail unwind from around his waist and pulled a small fraction of his flames past Kurikara’s seal, focusing them on the tip of his tail. Blue flames illuminated their path like a torch. 

After walking all night, the exwires arrived at the border of Gaia’s kingdom around mid-morning the next day. The car Lightning had promised was just pulling up as they passed the line of abandoned military vehicles. “Hello there!” the driver shouted. 

The tired foursome gave the driver a small wave as they climbed up the last rise.

“Adept Light told us to come early because you’d be making good time,” the driver said. “But damn, no one expected you this soon.”

Bon took a gulp of water then asked, “You have a key back to Rome?” 

The driver nodded, “I’ll call the airport and move up your flight,” he said. “If we can get you on a plane as soon as you hit Tokyo your eta is about four hours.”

* * *

Amaimon’s face screwed up in a look of extreme disgust the moment he stepped off the train in Shimane. “This place is diseased,” he declared.

Egyn paused and took a deep breath, tasting the moisture in the air. “Hn, you are right about something. Amazing.”

“No one asked you, Bastard-ni,” Amaimon snapped.

“Remember what I said about you two talking to each other?” Juuzo asked.

Amaimon stuck a lollipop in his mouth and thought for a moment. “Don’t do it?” he said uncertainly.

“Right,” Juuzo replied. “Neither of you can say two words to the other without being antagonizing, so just don’t talk.” He shook his head. “The two of you are worse than Kinzo and Gouzo… when they were in grade school!”

Then he turned to Yamantaka, “Are we close enough for you to sense Ren again? This was as precise a location as Shiemi-chan could give.”

The towering demon closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. “It’s faint, they have him warded to hide him from me, but I can finally sense him again,” Yamantaka said with relief. 

“Don’t run off on your own,” Juuzo ordered. “You can’t take them all on without endangering Ren. But it would help if you and Amaimon could scout ahead. Find out exactly what’s keeping us from Ren and then report back.”

“I should be the one to go with him,” Egyn announced. “Amaimon is worthless next to me.”

Juuzo groaned. “Don’t talk to him, don’t talk about him. Anyway, you’re coming with me. Dad says Bon and his friends are just a few hours behind us. We’ll establish a base of operations then meet them at the airport.”

* * *

Bon, Rin, Izumo and Konekomaru stumbled off the plane feeling almost more exhausted for the few hours of sleep they’d managed to get while in transit. Juuzo and Egyn met them at the terminal. Juuzo took one look at them and announced. “No objections, I’m taking you to the hotel.”

“But-” Bon began.

“You’re exhausted and I’m only marginally better off,” Juuzo said bluntly. “I don’t want to leave Ren there a moment longer than I have to, but we won’t do him any good rushing blind and tired. Yamantaka and Amaimon are scouting the place where he’s being held; neither of them have living bodies to maintain, their needs are different. We’ll see what they learn, make a plan and go after him in the morning when we’re rested.” 

“Who the hell are you?” Rin demanded eying Egyn suspiciously.

“So you’re what all the recent furor has been about,” Egyn said examining Rin distastefully. “You don’t look like much. Just because Satan developed an attachment to some human woman instead of beguiling another demoness to swell his command ranks… I don’t see the point of caring. You’re irrelevant.”

“Again, who are you? I like to know who I’m punching.” 

“Egyn, King of Water,” Juuzo supplied. “Don’t mind his manners, I’ve already had to institute the no talking policy between him and Amaimon.”

Bon and Konekomaru blinked at Juuzo. “You’re making a pair of Hell Kings follow the rules you came up to keep your younger brothers from fighting on trips?” Konekomaru managed.

“They don’t act any different,” Juuzo said blandly. 

Rin licked his lips nervously. “You’re another half-brother?” he asked Egyn.

Egyn sniffed, “Tiamat is the only parent I acknowledge.” 

Rin smiled. “We’ll probably get along then. I’m gonna kick Satan’s ass. You can help if you want.”

“More likely you’ll be crushed like a worm,” Egyn replied. “But your attitude is refreshing.”

“Good, you two aren’t going to fight,” Juuzo said. He glanced over at Egyn as the Hell King claimed the front seat of the van. “You do know Amaimon opposes Satan as well?”

“Only because he recently admitted to himself that he would never be more than a tool in Satan’s eyes and because the one you call Mephisto Pheles was conniving enough to pick that moment to act as a brother,” Egyn said dismissively as the exwires piled into the car. 

The drive from the airport was short. After a few kilometers the tranquil rice fields lining the road gave way to a garish profusion of booths and shops. Everything was brightly colored and decked in neon, cartoon foxes peered down at them from all angles. The street was overflowing with tourists and the shouts of vendors hawking their wares filled the air. Izumo grimaced, as bad as things had been when she left for the Academy a year and a half ago it was worse now.

Juuzo parked the car and led them past Fox Alley to their hotel. 

“Oh man, what is this place?” Rin exclaimed. He sniffed the air, “If we can’t go after Renzo until tomorrow anyway can we get dinner? We haven’t eaten anything but MREs for days, real food would definitely help me get my energy back.”

Konekomaru shook his head. “Remember what Adept Durov said? I don’t know if this place counts as a demon kingdom, but we shouldn’t take risks.”

“Everything here is poisoned,” Egyn confirmed, “the water, the earth and all that this land produces. Inari must weep at the corrupt that infests this place.”

Konekomaru glanced sharply at Izumo but the dark haired girl refused to meet his eyes. 

At the hotel Juuzo let them into a moderate sized room. “I was told I was lucky to get even one room,” he said with an apologetic look at Izumo. “You can have the bed,” he told the girl. “Everyone else, well, there should be enough room on the floor for our sleeping bags.”

Konekomaru stared out the window at the multitude neon foxes grinning from a billboard on the building across the street for several minutes then he turned to Izumo, “Isn’t it about time that you told us what’s going on here?” he said.

Izumo’s shoulders stiffened defensively. “Why would I know anything?” she snapped.

Konekomaru frowned, he gestured to Fox Alley. “You are Inari’s miko, do you seriously expect me to believe you know nothing about this place?” he asked accusingly. “Our friend’s life is on the line here, this is no time for secrets.”

Juuzo and Bon turned angrily on Izumo at Konekomaru’s words. “What?” Juuzo exclaimed. He grabbed Izumo’s arm and roughly spun her around to face him. Rin shoved Juuzo away from Izumo, but a moment later he found himself all but choking as the secrets Izumo had trusted him with tried to spill out. Egyn looked on curiously. 

“What is wrong with you?” Bon demanded, pushing past Rin to confront Izumo. 

“Back off Suguro!” Izumo snapped. Her hand slipped into her pocket, fingers brushing against her stash of summon circles. “I said I don’t know!”

‘Izumo’s little sister,’ Rin thought. White spots danced before his eyes as he bit down on his tongue to keep from speaking.

“Liar!” Bon rumbled. He loomed over Izumo threateningly. 

A thin line of blood leaked out of the corner of Rin’s month. 

Konekomaru’s eyes darted from Rin to Izumo. “Bon,” he said quietly. “Ask Rin what Izumo’s hiding.”

Rin’s head jerked up, a panicky look in his eyes as he bit down on his tongue harder. 

“I hate you,” Izumo informed Bon and Konekomaru. “They’re holding my baby sister hostage. That’s all Rin knows and that’s all I’m telling you.” The anger in her eyes dimmed slightly as she glanced at Juuzo. “I won’t endanger my little sister to save your little brother.” 

Rin took a deep breath and pushed aside the remnants of his panic. “We should leave Izumo behind,” he said. “We can’t ask her to help us against them.” 

Izumo shook her head. “If you leave me out they’ll know I told you,” she protested. “I have to go and act like you don’t know anything.”

“We don’t,” Juuzo said bitterly. “We don’t even know which side you’re on, do we? They could order you to stab us in the back at any moment.”

“Pretty much,” Izumo admitted. “My little sister has to come first for me.”

Before Izumo or Rin realized what Juuzo was thinking he stepped forward and clipped Izumo firmly behind the ear, knocking her unconscious. “Then you’ll understand why I had to do that,” he said as he caught Izumo. He turned to Bon. “We’ll lock her up in here when we leave. You’re barriers are better than mine. We need to keep her contained until someone from the True Cross can collect her, but it will be forty-eight hours before Dad can send official reinforcements. I’m not willing to leave someone behind to stand guard over her.”

Rin gave Juuzo a dark look as he took Izumo from the older exorcist. “If they have Izumo’s little sister we should take her back too,” he stated.

“Do you know how long they had Izumo’s younger sister?” Konekomaru asked.

“They took her before Izumo came to the Academy,” Rin replied.

Konekomaru sighed, “Rin, I’d like to save her too but we don’t know that she’s being held here. We know Shima’s here and in immediate danger.” He glanced at Izumo, “It would help if we knew what they wanted from Izumo-chan but if they’ve had her little sister for that long already she’s probably not in immediate danger.”

“Unless they get mad at Izumo ‘cause of us rescuing Renzo,” Rin pointed out. “They’re both our responsibility now.” 

Bon looked guilty as he said, “We can’t not rescue Shima on the off chance that we’re endangering Izumo’s little sister.”

“I know,” Rin said turning away from the other three as he carried Izumo over to the bed. “I just don’t think it’s fair that the only person who’d put Tsukumo first got knocked unconscious so she wouldn’t get in the way.”


	19. Pulling in Different Directions

For several minutes an awkward silence filled the room as Rin carefully laid Izumo on the bed. 

“We need to take her summoning circles,” Juuzo said finally.

“You’re not searching my girlfriend,” Rin snapped. 

“Not even Bon’s barriers will hold against her Byakko unless he’s actively reinforcing them,” Juuzo pointed out.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” Then a panic strickened look crossed Rin’s face, after a moment his expression hardened into determination. Rin quickly slid Izumo’s stash of summoning circles out of her pocket. He froze for several moments, his hands shaking, then he took off Izumo’s shoe and removed the paper she kept folded beneath the insert. “Happy?” he snapped.

“I’m sorry,” Juuzo said as he went to move Izumo’s pack to the other side of the room. Rin snatched it away from him.

Rin spent several moments searching the pack for the pocket where Izumo kept her reserve circles so he could return the ones he’d taken. When he was done Rin set the pack by the door. He walked back over to bed and shoved into the corner then took off Izumo’s other shoe and neatly lined it up with it’s mate on the edge of the bed. Without looking at Rin, Bon set a barrier around the bed, imprisoning Izumo.

Rin pointedly spread out his sleeping bag on the floor between Izumo and the rest of the room. Despite the fact that they all desperately needed rest, little was found in the tense atmosphere that filled the hotel room. 

After nearly an hour spent trying to get to sleep Konekomaru got up and walked over to the window where Bon was also not sleeping. “You should talk to Rin,” he said quietly. 

Bon scowled at his friend. “Right now I can’t say anything to Rin without it being an abuse of power,” he replied in a harsh whisper. “You should have asked him yourself or left me to get it out of Kamiki without dragging Rin’s oath into it.” 

Konekomaru flinched. “I- It was expedient,” he admitted. 

“It’s too damn easy!” Bon growled. 

“Shima’s life is on the line and I could see Izumo was hiding things and then I realized Rin knew more than he was saying too.”

“Rin cares about Shima,” Bon said. “We have to trust that.”

“Rin hasn’t even known him for two years; we’ve been friends with Shima all our lives,” Konekomaru argued.

“I know, but…” Bon grimaced. “When Rin took that oath he put himself completely at my mercy. I can’t, won’t abuse that. I have to trust him. Going in tomorrow with one person down and us all at odds with each other is going to bad enough. Me forcing Rin to- to like, accept, I don’t know how it’d work if I gave him an order like that; told him to think, feel something he doesn’t really feel; I don’t want to know. He’s got a right to not like that we’re putting Kamiki’s little sister at risk. I don’t like it! But there’s no way I could leave Renzo either. I hate this, I hate that I can’t just magically come up with a third option and make everything okay, but I don’t see one.”

* * *

Renzo hung, suspended halfway between the floor and ceiling of Gedoin’s lab. The pain radiating from his shoulders crested and ebbed in waves that cast the world in shades of unreality. 

The sound of the lab door sliding open caused Renzo to tense, but instead of Gedoin returning for the next stage of whatever it was that they were doing to him to fulfill Lucifer’s promise a heavily bandaged woman strapped to a stretcher was wheeled in.

Renzo found a small smile for his fellow victim once the attendants had left. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?” he asked. The line was beyond cliche but it was a start. Because he was Shima Renzo, pervert extraordinaire, and she was a girl so he should hit on her. It was one of his oldest and most comfortable masks. 

All the best lies had a little truth in them; he liked telling a girl that he thought she was pretty and seeing her flush and maybe smile before she remembered to get mad. Besides lies and truth and masks didn’t matter anymore, it was something of him that wasn’t connected to now; to agonizing pain and the need to extend it as long as possible to give Shiemi the time to mount a rescue before Lucifer erased his existence. Besides he was in this situation because, in the end, it turned out that he wasn’t enough of a bastard to be on the other side of the knife so he might as well offer the woman a distraction from what was coming. Maybe she’d return the favor when it was his turn. 

After a bit the woman responded with a nostalgic smile and it occurred to Renzo that she must be a real beauty under the bandages, or at least she had been once, before this place. Her one visible eye turned to study him for a moment. “I’m old enough to be your mother,” she said but it was an invitation not a rebuff. 

There was something familiar about the woman’s eye; Renzo decided that trying to remember who she reminded of him would be a distraction for later. For now, she was someone whose defensive mechanisms meshed well with his and that was all that mattered. “I’m told I have a very young mother, I guess this proves it,” he said. 

The doors swished open again and Gedoin waddled in. As he walked past Renzo he grabbed the teen’s ankle and yanked. Renzo shrieked as his shoulder popped out of the socket. “No aid last night I see,” Gedoin sneered. “Gaia is nothing! I outsmarted her. You won’t escape Lucifer-sama’s justice.” 

“Flatterer,” the woman’s voice dropped to a throaty purr. She looked past Gedoin, shutting him out of their reality, to continue flirting with Renzo.

For several minutes all Renzo could do was gasp at the newest pain wracking his body. He tried to think of something to say back to the woman, it was better than thinking about his dislocated shoulder or the weight of his body slowly tearing the unsupported muscles and tendons apart. “All true,” he managed.

The woman gave an amused huff. But anything further that she might have said was lost in a choked cry when Gedoin jabbed a scalpel into her arm. “Time for another sample, old hag,” he declared as he cut away a slice of flesh. “Useless as you are, through your cells I’ve unlocked the means of merging a human and demon. But you’re still withholding the secret of Inari’s power over life and death and I will have it from you.” Once he had his bloody trophy Gedoin retreated back to another area of his lab. 

“You’re bleeding,” Renzo said worriedly. 

The woman shrugged, unconcerned. Then she smiled at him, “It was nice, being a pretty girl who could turn a man’s head for a moment again. Even if none of it was true.”

* * *

Izumo woke up to a pounding headache and an unnatural silence. Izumo blinked at her shoes, sitting neatly lined up on the end of the bed inside the barrier but a moment later she forgot the oddity of her shoes in a surge of fury when she noticed Rin sitting on the floor just outside the barrier. He had one hand buried under the opposite sleeve and was undoubtedly busy scratching his arm bloody. ‘All the time, all the effort we put into getting Rin to stop hurting himself and they throw it away like it’s nothing as soon as a human friend is in trouble,’ Izumo thought glaring hatefully at Bon and Konekomaru. 

Konekomaru sat on his sleeping bag in the corner of the room furthest from Izumo’s corner. He sat with his knees pulled up to his chest and his chin resting on top of them. Izumo felt a vicious surge of satisfaction at the miserable, guilty expression on his face. Bon sat in the window, arms crossed over his chest scowling darkly as he stared outside, clearly distancing himself from everyone in the room. Izumo caught him sneaking a worried look at Rin, but he didn’t do anything. 

Egyn had claimed the single chair in the room and sat on it as if it were a throne despite the fact that no one was paying the slightest attention to him. 

Juuzo was interrogating Amaimon and Yamantaka. Izumo imagined that he was the one who’d had the barrier around her made soundproof, preventing her from hearing their plans in case she somehow managed to escape and betray them. Izumo sighed, she understood Juuzo’s position all too well and she couldn’t hate him. Still, if he’d been willing to go along with her; to pretend they hadn’t learned anything for her; it would have been easier, safer for all of them. It wasn’t as if she wished Renzo any harm. She was still an exwire, no where near ready for her role in Gedoin’s plans, all she should have needed to do was convince the Illuminati that she’d maintained her cover. Juuzo’s obvious distrust made that impossible. In response she was going to have to do something to prove the Illuminati still controlled her. She couldn’t risk them thinking she’d turned on them, not while they still had Tsukumo. 

Amaimon lost interest in Juuzo’s questions. Izumo watched him make a dismissive gesture in response to the young exorcist’s latest question then brush past him to walk over to Rin. Amaimon said something to Rin and Rin looked away with a stubborn expression. In response Amaimon grabbed Rin’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, forcibly putting an end to his scratching. Izumo gave Amaimon a grateful look.  
Rin squirmed for a moment then surrendered. A small smile lightened Bon’s face for a moment. Amaimon released Rin’s arm after a bit longer then patted him condescendingly on the head. Rin batted at Amaimon’s hand in an unconvincing show of irritation. 

Juuzo called the group back to attention. There were several minutes of further discussion, incorporating Yamantaka and Amaimon’s information into their plan Izumo figured. Then everyone left. Rin glanced back at Izumo before letting the door shut behind him, his lips moved silently, ‘Do what you have to.’ To Izumo he looked pale and a little queasy.

Izumo waited a few minutes to make sure no one had forgotten anything then dove for her shoe. A brush and small pot of ink, her supplies for drawing summoning circles fell out of the toe instead of the paper she’d hidden there. Izumo smiled fiercely, “Good job Rin,” she said. She quickly painted a new circle on to the bed sheet then bit into the webbing between her thumb and fingers and slammed her bloody hand down on the still wet circle. “Uke, Mike, Tsukumo needs us!” 

The two foxes frowned when they appeared inside the barrier. “Why are you locked inside one of Suguro’s barriers?” Uke asked sniffing at the shimmering wall. 

“His priority is Shima’s safety, mine is Tsukumo’s,” Izumo said. She licked her lips. “They took my summoning circles but Rin left me the means to draw more.”

Mike’s eyes lit up. “He’s fighting his oath for you,” he said approvingly. “Even though you didn’t do anything to make it easier, like marrying him.”

“Would you shut up about that!” Izumo squawked. “This is serious. From what I saw Suguro might hesitate to use Rin’s oath to force the issue but Rin knows what Suguro wants anyway. For now Suguro and Miwa are the enemy and Rin’s a wild card. He’ll help us if he can, but-”

“But he doesn’t have much practice in resisting an oath,” Mike finished. “So, shall we break down this barrier?”

Izumo nodded.

* * *

“This is as close as we could get without them knowing,” Yamantaka said halting the group in the trees at the back of the massive Inari Dream Town complex. “Renzo is below this facade.”

Juuzo nodded. “The guards are human,” he said.

“So what?” Amaimon asked innocently.

“So don’t kill them,” Juuzo clarified.

“Why not? They’re not under Big Brother’s protection- Well, not Mephisto-ni’s protection. Lucifer’s a jerk. And they made Shiemi cry.” Amaimon sounded honestly curious about why that wasn’t sufficient cause to kill someone.

Egyn tilted his head to the side to evaluate Juuzo more closely. “They took your brother, tortured him. Does it truly make a difference to you that it was humans who did this and not demons?”

Bon glanced worriedly at Rin, but Rin didn’t even seem to be aware of Juuzo’s argument with the two Hell Kings. In fact Rin had hardly said a word since taking Izumo’s summoning circles the night before and was looking increasingly pale and unsteady on his feet.

Juuzo’s fist clenched around the haft of his staff, his eyes flashing dangerously. “Demons come back after being exorcised; humans don’t come back from dying,” he said in a low, tight voice. “For that reason it is the official policy of the True Cross to avoid killing humans if at all possible, even when they’re in league with demons. Because it’s my brother and I would love to see anyone who hurt him turned into a bloody smear I have to be more rigorous than ever in abiding by the True Cross’ guidelines. DO NOT KILL.” 

“As you like,” Egyn replied and negligently waved his hand toward a sprinkler head at the edge of the lawn. A geyser of water blew the pipes open then the water swept over the guard’s position with the force of a firehose. “However, you’re wrong,” Egyn continued as the guards were slammed brutally into the wall of the building. “Human souls do return from the Void, it simply takes longer and you don’t remember that you were there.”

“Shiemi let Mother kill the worst humans in Rio,” Amaimon whined as they walked past the unconscious guards. Bon and Konekomaru stopped and stared at Amaimon in shock; finding that the Illuminati base was apparently a giant shopping mall didn’t even register next to that statement.

“The way I heard it, Shiemi-chan did everything she could to temper Gaia’s judgement,” Juuzo replied coldly. 

“Okay,” Amaimon shrugged, “but your brother’s not so picky about which souls he lets Yamantaka eat. No ones come back from that, demon or human.”

“Would you shut up!” Juuzo snapped. 

Yamantaka glowered at Amaimon. “We are divided enough already,” he scolded the Earth King. He turned to Juuzo, “Unlike most humans, Renzo recognizes that I must satisfy Iblis, who would gladly see every familiar within his Kingdom obliterated. As the Earth King pointed out, there are some deaths demons do not return from. Still, apart from the battle in Rio, Renzo never gave me permission to kill. And those humans he did allow me free reign with did not employ your measure of what constitutes a demon. They did not worry themselves about whether their child-victims went to Gehenna or the Void when their material form was destroyed, only whether or not they looked human.”

Suddenly, Rin who had been listlessly trailing after the others drew Kurikara and darted past Bon. His flames briefly illuminated a shambling figure dressed in a hospital gown, it’s body covered in large necrotic patches. “Hunngrry,” the creature groaned. Then Rin brought Kurikara down, splitting it laterally. He crouched between the two burning halves of the body, Kurikara still drawn, his tail lashing, ears sharply elongated. 

Egyn stared at the blue flames cloaking Rin with a look of fearful fascination. 

“Rin?” Bon called eyeing the smaller boy uncertainly; it wasn’t normal for Rin to go so deeply into his demon form with so little provocation. “You okay?”

“Feeling better now,” Rin said, a rumbling growl underlying his voice. “Pay attention, that wasn’t the only ghoul.”

Konekomaru took a deep breath then said, “Not a ghoul, I think that was a zombie...”

* * *

“Worthless, that old hag is worthless,” Gedoin muttered to himself as he wandered through the lab.

Renzo’s pain-glazed eyes followed him warily. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since they’d strung him up. Sometimes he imagined he could feel the fibers in his shoulders tearing one by one. Most of the time he couldn’t feel feel his hands at all, even though he knew the ropes had to be cutting into his wrists.

“Worthless, her cells don’t even regenerate anymore. My research has been at a standstill ever since the fox-tails stopped growing back.” 

Gedoin turned his sulky glare on Renzo. “And because of you I don’t have any insurance that the daughter will come when I call.” He grabbed an empty syringe and jabbed the needle into the top of Renzo’s foot. 

The sudden unexpected assault; the needle ripping through thin skin to scrape against bone shocked a gasp out of Renzo.

“Your job was to bring the daughter to me. To watch her for any signs that she might be thinking of doing something stupid, like throwing herself on Pheles’ mercy.” Gedoin ripped the needle free then shoved it deep into Renzo’s ankle. This time the end broke off. Gedoin left the splinter of metal wedged between the small bones in Renzo’s ankle and grabbed a second syringe. “Instead you turned stupid. Betrayed us for that bitch Gaia. It’s your fault my research is stymied, yours. If I had a proper subject I’d have results by now, but you got in the way!”

Some time later; Gedoin was panting with effort, beads of sweat dripped down his face as he reached back for yet another syringe. Renzo’s legs were dotted with blood and more than a few broken needles jutted out of his flesh. To Renzo the sharp points of pain in his legs seemed like they were tethers, the only things keeping him in his body. With each swing of his body the strain on his shoulders increased, ‘Maybe my arms’ll rip off altogether,’ Renzo thought distantly. ‘Wouldn’t be all bad. I’d fall, hit the ground. Maybe Shiemi’d find me again, make the pain go away.’

Gedoin was talking again. Renzo didn’t care, he focused on the ring of bruises around Gedoin’s neck and wished he’d managed to finish the job. 

The door to the lab opened and one of Gedoin’s assistants hurried in. The man stopped and stared, he didn’t seem to know how or if it was safe to interrupt the tantrum Gedoin was inflicting on Renzo. “Sir, um sir,” he tried quietly, to no impact. After several minutes he tried again, a bit louder, “Umm, sir, there’s a Kamiki Izumo at the old site looking for you.”

“Kamiki? Izumo?” Gedoin’s mouth dropped open. For a moment he just stood there slack jawed. Then he frowned threateningly at his assistant. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier! What are you waiting for go get her!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My take on Bon is that he has strongly held, somewhat inflexible ideas about right and wrong. Unlike Angel, who allows his beliefs to be dictated to him by people ranked above him, Bon’s morals are internal. Of course Bon has been raised with the idea that he is supposed to lead the Myodha someday, he doesn’t look to someone above him not because he doesn’t have a lean to ‘order’ but because he sees it as his responsibility to make those sorts of judgement calls. One of his larger flaws is that he’s harsh when it comes to judging others. 
> 
> I don’t know that I completely buy that, during the Kyoto arc, Bon was only mad at Rin for keeping secrets and his actions had nothing to do with learning that Satan was Rin’s father, but assuming that Bon was completely honest about why he was angry, Bon’s reaction shows a lack of empathy. It doesn’t seem to matter, or possibly occur, to Bon that Rin might have been keeping his parentage secret out of fear of how people would react. Bon also completely misses that Rin read Bon ostracizing him as confirming his fears about telling people.


	20. Individual Battles

The woman with the white striped hair strode into Lucifer’s hospital room. Gedoin trotted in after her as soon as she stopped the pudgy man shoved his way in front of her. “Lucifier-sama,” he panted. “I have miraculously secured my vital research subject! Soon I will have all the answers you require of me!” 

Ignoring Gedoin, the woman gave her report over his ranting in a calm voice. “Commander, we have reports that Egyn, Amaimon, Okumura Rin, the fire demon Yamantaka and several humans have broken into the facility. Most likely their intention is the rescue of the traitor Shima Renzo.”

Lucifer stood up and stretched. “Have you completed the traitor’s treatments Dr. Gedoin?” he asked. 

Gedoin glared venomously at the woman. “No thanks to her the preparations are complete, but I have yet to initiate the final stage.”

“I believe my little brother could use an object lesson in what it means to go against Father or I,” Lucifer said thoughtfully. “Have the traitor prepared for the final stage then brought to my audience room. Little brother has come this far, he should see his friend one last time before the traitor’s soul is eradicated forever.” Then his tone turned business-like, “Begin evacuating the base, use whatever resources you deem expandable to guide Okumura and the Hell Kings to me while minimizing their impact on the evacuation. Kill the other invaders if you can manage it, although it may be beyond your capability until I have dealt with their champions.” 

“I’ll get right on it, sir” the woman replied with a respectful bow. She turned smartly on her heel and strode out.

“But-” Gedoin stammered, he looked between Lucifer and the woman. “My experiments. The old hag, 910, won’t withstand transportation and her daughter isn’t prepared yet. We could lose Inari back to Gehenna.” 

Lucifer looked down on the scientist calmly. “You have until I have finished educating my younger brother to transfer Inari to your new subject. If you need more time ensure that their arrival in my audience room is delayed. Do not fail me.”

“Never! Thank you, thank you Lucifer-sama,” Gedoin exclaimed then hurried after the woman. “You have to stall them!” he called after her. “I need more time to transfer Inari!”

* * *

“Damnit,” Bon cursed as his bullet creased the side of a zombie’s skull but didn’t stop it. Before he could correct his aim Egyn raised one hand, a bead of water formed on the cusp of his finger, he flicked the water bead like a pea. It shot down the hall and smashed through the zombie’s brain.

For the last twenty minutes the seven of them had been unsuccessfully searching the Inari Dream Town complex for an entrance to the basement where Yamantaka could sense Renzo was being held. While they searched a steady stream of zombies showed up to harass them.

“I thought Anubis was going to be an improvement over that toadying upstart Astaroth,” Egyn said scornfully. “But it seems the old jackal can’t control his kingdom.”

Rin spotted another zombie creeping up behind them. With a defiant glance at Juuzo, he cast an arch of flames off Kurikara’s blade. For several moments blue flames enveloped the zombie. Then the flames guttered and the creature started screaming, it’s half-rotted vocal cords straining to express it’s horror.

Juuzo slammed the butt of his staff into the pathetic creature’s throat, snapping it’s spine and killing it instantly. “You can’t save everyone and you’ll get people you could have saved killed if you insist on trying,” he told Rin harshly.

“They didn’t do anything to deserve this,” Rin protested.

Bon bit his tongue and left Juuzo to explain without the pull of Rin’s oath influencing whether or not he accepted the older exorcist’s reasoning. 

“Zombies are past saving, all we can do is lay them to rest,” Juuzo said, his expression completely unyielding. 

If anyone else was scanning the zombies’ features, searching for pink hair, they didn’t say it. Rin looked away his tail hung low, the tip twitching, radiating defensiveness.

“I haven’t done much to earn your trust and then I tell you to take my word for it that we have to kill those people,” Juuzo sighed. “I am sorry that this situation could put Izumo’s younger sister at risk but she should have been upfront with us. If she’d come forward back in Delphi a different team could have been dispatched without casting any suspicion on her. But because she didn’t trust us and tried to do everything on her own she put our mission to rescue Renzo at risk, I couldn’t let that pass.”

Amaimon spotted another zombie approaching and darted down the hall to rip it’s head off. “I don’t care if they’re stupid humans, rebels against Anubis or Lucifer-ni’s flunkies,” he said. “I’m here to get Shiemi’s knight back. They’re in the way.” Yamantaka and Egyn didn’t say anything but their expressions showed they agreed with Amaimon and didn’t see Rin’s moral dilemma. 

Relegated to the center of the formation because arias were practically useless against zombies, Konekomaru wondered if it would have been better if he’d simply told the others to go on without him back in Greece. Without him, Bon and Rin could have traveled faster and if he’d said he was unable to continue it would have given Izumo an excuse to opt out as his partner, without bringing up her sister. Both Juuzo and Bon were stronger arias than he was and had a second meister to fall back on. The only thing he’d contributed to the group had been the realization that Izumo was keeping things from them and that observation had left their team strained almost to the breaking point. 

Beleaguered with uncertainty, Konekomaru didn’t say anything but he wondered if Juuzo was right; if the zombies were truly past saving. He wondered if it might be possible to combine Rin’s blue flames with Shiemi’s healing abilities to restore the Illuminati’s victims. He wondered if Juuzo had thought of the possibility when he saw Rin burn away the possession without killing the zombie; burdening themselves with dozens of half-cured, panic-stricken zombies would kill any chance they had of rescuing Renzo and there would be no guarantee that they were doing more than subjecting the victims to more suffering, a greater awareness of the horror that had been inflicted on them. 

“Behind us,” Konekomaru called, pointing out their most recent attacker for those more capable of dealing with it. He found himself staring at the zombie’s face, wondering if they found Renzo among the zombie horde would they kill him immediately or grasp at any chance of saving him, even if the attempt would put him through hell. “I- I think that’s the same one Amaimon tore the head off of earlier,” Konekomaru said nervously as Bon’s shot dropped their most recent attacker.

The group stopped and turned to stare at the creature. “Beheading should work on zombies,” Juuzo said. 

While they puzzled over it the bullet hole started to close over. “It’s regenerating!” Bon exclaimed. 

Yamantaka put his hand on the zombie’s forehead, for a moment black flames covered it, then the zombie fell back like a puppet with the strings cut. “No longer,” he said.

Juuzo blew out a deep breath. “Okay, regenerative zombies. Fire’s the only way to get rid of them. Rin, can we count on you?”

Rin hesitated, hating the thought of writing anyone off, even a stranger. But Renzo was counting on them and Bon was counting on him… Before Rin could resolve the issue with himself the floor opened up beneath them dumping them into a half-dozen different funnels.

* * *

Gedoin beamed at Izumo as he escorted her to his lab. “I knew you were a good girl,” he told her. “Coming back just when I need you.” He reached out to pat her cheek.

Izumo cringed away from his touch. “I haven’t even passed the Exorcist Exam yet, I’m not trained to summon Inari yet. I only came to warn you about the True Cross’ invasion.”

“Oh that doesn’t matter anymore,” Gedoin waved off Izumo’s objections. “You’re Tamamo’s direct descendent, naturally compatible. We can skip most of the preparatory steps. Which is good, very good. Even with my immortal army doing the bulk of the work I doubt that useless pig woman will buy me much time.”

The door to the lab slid open. Gedoin walked in still nattering on but Izumo froze. Framed in the open door, Renzo hung suspended from the ceiling. Just looking at him, sympathetic pains shot through Izumo’s shoulders and her stomach twisted. Renzo’s skin was mottled with bruises and the floor beneath him was spattered with his blood. At the sound of the door opening he’d raised his head a bit but his eyes were so glazed with agony that Izumo didn’t think he was really seeing her, or anything. ‘Your fault,’ her conscious whispered. ‘It’ll be your fault if they don’t rescue him.’ Izumo found herself taking rapid, gasping breaths. The slow, steady drip of blood falling from Renzo’s toes seemed strangely magnified. 

For a moment Izumo was years in the past, witnessing the cruelties inflicted on her mother once again. ‘For Tsukumo. I have no choice,’ Izumo told herself. She bit her lip and walked past Renzo, into the lab.

“Ahh, they’ve already prepared the old hag- I mean your darling mother,” Gedoin was saying. He gestured toward the back of the lab and Izumo saw her mother secured upright on a raised platform before a twisted mass of wires and pipes.

“Izumo-” the heavily bandaged woman breathed.

Looking at her probable future Izumo felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She glanced back at Renzo. ‘Better me than Tsukumo,’ she told herself. ‘For Tsukumo’s safety there’s nothing I won’t risk. It’s far too late for second thoughts now.’

Izumo turned to Gedoin resolutely. “What do I have to do?” she asked.

* * *

Rin tumbled down into the dark. 

After a long fall down a slick-walled chute he landed in an unlit chamber, the air felt cold and stagnant. Rin used his flames to illuminate his new surroundings. The room he found himself in was little more than a sealed metal box divided in half by a row of bars.

“Bon?” he called. His voice echoed back at him mockingly. 

Rin’s stomach twisted violently. Technically he hadn’t broken his oath. Technically he’d done what he said he’d do. ‘And we’re all on the same side anyway,’ Rin reminded himself. ‘Koneko and Juuzo were just being paranoid. It wasn’t like I betrayed Bon. It was Izumo, she wouldn’t do anything to hurt Renzo. She just wanted to make sure her little sister was safe too. And Bon didn’t really say anything about keeping Izumo locked up.’

Rin told himself that, but his stomach didn’t settle. It felt like there was a chain wrapped around his gut pulling tighter and tighter with every breath. Even if he hadn’t lied he’d deceived Bon when he slipped Izumo’s ink-kit into her shoe and now their mission was going to hell and Rin knew it was his fault- Somehow. 

The bond he shared with Bon was screaming that the other boy was NOT SAFE! And everything he’d told himself to justify, excuse pitting his loyalty to Izumo against the loyalty he owed Bon turned to ashes in his mouth. They were being attacked by zombies-not-ghouls, the Illuminati’s innocent victims transformed into all but unkillable monsters, unkillable except by fire. Now they’d been separated. Bon was out there, alone, somewhere in the dark with the unkillable zombies. Rin collapsed to his knees and threw-up everything in his stomach.

He had deceived Bon and allowed Bon to be taken away and now Bon was in danger and Rin was failing to protect him. The oath that had been a comforting anchor, assuring him of his place in the world became something cutting and cruel. 

He’d done what he’d said, but he’d deceived Bon and that was wrong, wrong wrong. He’d told himself nothing bad would happen; it was Izumo and Izumo would never hurt them. -Even if she’d said she’d do anything to protect her little sister- She was Izumo and he trusted her completely, just like he trusted Bon completely. Izumo would never do anything to hurt them, Koneko and Juuzo were being stupid and letting her escape didn’t matter because Izumo was on their side so it wasn’t like he was being disloyal to Bon. They were all on the same side. But everything was going wrong and it was his fault. He deceived Bon. 

Rin’s stomach had long since emptied itself but he couldn’t stop dry heaving as his thought spiraled round and round. All of Mephisto’s lessons on making promises that meant nothing crashed and burned against the fact that Rin didn’t make promises he didn’t intend to keep. 

A hand reached out of the darkness and locked around Rin’s ankle. “Hunngrry.”

* * *

Eyes wide Konekomaru backed away from the horror that had stepped out of the shadows. It’s overall shape was humanoid, but various parts of smaller, poorly merged bodies stuck out of it randomly. 

Even before they’d realized the single zombies could regenerate their wounds it had been determined that Konekomaru was useless against them. Now he was alone against this massive, hideous chimera zombie, what chance did he have? Konekomaru’s back hit the wall of the cell. There was no where left for him to run, no one to save him. His knees gave out and he started to slide down the wall.

‘No,’ Konekomaru told himself. ‘No matter how out matched I am, I will not just lie down and die. I will not let myself be a burden.’ He looked around the cell with a renewed determination.

* * *

Bon sighted down the barrel of his gun but hesitated at pulling the trigger. Even regenerative zombies were slowed down by a bullet to the brain and he trusted the Rin would find him soon, but where to aim? The chimera zombie he faced had a half-dozen partially merged heads in addition to the main one on top of it’s neck and Bon didn’t have an unlimited supply of bullets. He had to hold out until Rin found him. Besides Konekomaru was probably in worse trouble than he was. ‘Rin should know that and prioritize accordingly,’ Bon assured himself. 

Then Bon scowled because the bond didn’t work that way. He’d seen the strain it put on Rin to try to prioritize Izumo’s secret over his need for answers. He had no doubt that, had he asked, Rin would have been forced to answer. And if Rin had to chose between Bon’s safety and anyone else’s the bond would force that choice as well. When the Myo’o Dharani High Council had proposed the oath Bon had objected to it on principle; it was wrong to ask Rin to give anyone that much control over him. Bon had worried about accepting the oath because of his quick temper and the ease with which the oath could be abused. But it was only now that really hit Bon how destructive the oath’s skewing of Rin’s priorities could be. Konekomaru could die because Rin wouldn’t be able to make an objective judgement about which situation was more desparate. “As soon as this mission’s over, Rin’s learning how to mitigate the oath,” Bon muttered to himself.

Bon fired a round through the chimera zombie’s main head. The eyes on several of the other heads swiveled to look at him while the hole in the main head healed, the zombie didn’t even miss a step. Bon looked worried. Then he exclaimed “I’m an idiot!” and dug a summoning circle out of a pocket on his ammo belt. “What am I? Some sort of princess waiting around to be rescued. Karura, could you provide some aid?” 

The phoenix appeared in a burst of flames. “Karura en, Kashoku no In!” Bon commanded crossing his wrists in front of him. A burst of flames explode from Karura and incinerated the chimera zombie. “Thanks,” Bon told his familiar. “Now Rin should be able to focus on rescuing people who actually need it. But, would you mind sticking around in case I run into another of those things?” 

“Our long war with the Impure King is done, but I don’t mind eradicating other agents of Rot,” Karura replied. He flew up and wrapped his claws around the grating on the air vent into the cell. “I might even be able to help you out of this box… Although it is well built,” the phoenix added after several moments of tugging.

* * *

“Ucchusma, I hope you weren’t kidding about being less stingy with your help,” Juuzo muttered. His eyes never left the monstrosity scuttling toward him on dozens of human arms like a giant centipede.

Juuzo steepled his hands, balancing his staff between his fingers and thumb as he began an invocation. Without breaking cadence he leapt out of the way of the chimera zombie’s first lunge. Warm, red-gold flames erupted from his staff and Juuzo sighed in relief. 

He twirled the staff around and struck the chimera with the burning end of his staff as it charged past. The creature screamed in fury. It reached for him with a multitude of hands. Juuzo planted the butt of his staff and used it to vault over the zombie, landing another fiery strike as he touched down. From there it was a race between the chimera zombie’s powers of regeneration and Juuzo’s ability to spread Ucchusma’s flames. Before long the Myo’o Dharani exorcist stepped back from the zombie’s smoldering ashes. 

Then Juuzo wrapped his stole over his nose and mouth to help filter out the smoke choked air and stretched up to examine the trap door that had dumped him in the cell.

* * *

“Foolish cur!” Egyn declared. “Cower before your betters!” He stood firm and regal as the ten foot tall chimera zombie lumbered toward him. 

The Water King reached up and laid his hands on the lumpy, imperfect blending of flesh then he made a pulling gesture. A mass of water extracted itself from the zombie leaving behind a desiccated husk. Egyn commanded the water he’d summoned from the zombie’s tissues to wrap around him like a cloak. “Perhaps Anubis is not so negligent as as I believed,” he commented. 

Then he crouched in front of the weakly twitching husk and turned one of it’s heads so that he could stare into it’s eyes. “What are you, Abomination?” he asked it. “Your power is of the Kingdom of Rot but you are no demon.”

* * *

Amaimon circled the chimera zombie that had been unfortunate enough to share his cell, examining it from all angles. Like a bug on a pin, the creature squirmed helplessly, impaled by a dozen different rock spires. The more it struggled the more it tore it’s own flesh and the more firmly entangled it became as it’s wounds grew into the very spires that were impaling it, binding it to them. 

The creature whimpered pitifully but Amaimon had lost interest in it. He walked over to one of the wall and casually dug his clawed finger-tips into one of the metal seams then tore it open and let himself out of the cell. He glanced around and saw a number of other boxes, cells like the one he’d just escape with a giant maze of tubes leading from the upper levels to them. 

He puzzled over the boxes, wondering if he could figure out which one held Egyn so he could continue the rescue of Shiemi’s knight without his half-brother’s unwelcome assistance.

* * *

Izumo bit her lip as the heavy stylized helmet Gedoin called the ‘savior mask’ was lowered over her eyes. “You’re almost ready my dear,” Gedoin chortled. “A fresh subject, I’ve waited so long.” Izumo’s skin crawled as he patted her shoulder with a proprietary air. Before Gedoin could start the procedure to transfer the nine-tails from her mother to Izumo the door to the lab slid open. 

The woman with white striped hair walked in followed by two hulking guards. “Dr. Gedoin, is everything prepared for the Commander’s object lesson?”

“Yes, yes,” Gedoin replied impatiently. He grabbed up a small earpiece and all but threw it at the woman. “The mobile unit doesn’t have any built in targeting, without intensive training all it can do is force him to eat the power of some random demon. But who care? Any demon should be good enough to redeem Lucifer-sama’s promise. Now get out of my way, completing the transfer is crucial.”

“The Commander has deemed the destruction of the traitor’s soul to be important, you would do well to remember that,” the woman stated severely.

Gedoin sneered at her, “That is the difference between you and I,” he said. “You have no comprehension of what is truly critical to the future of the Illuminati. Once my experiments succeed I will have unlocked the secrets of life and death. I- I! will be the one to free Lucifer-sama from the limitations of his host form! And then I will have his undying gratitude. My experiments cannot be disturbed for the punishment of a worthless cretin like that one.” 

The woman turned her back on Gedoin. “Cut him down but be careful not to let him touch the floor,” she told the two guards. “From everything we’ve observed Gaia won’t aid him at this hour but that’s no excuse for sloppiness. The Commander requires him in the audience chamber. Move quickly, Okumura will not be delayed for long by Gedoin’s failures and the Commander wants him to witness the traitor’s damnation.” 

One of the guards cut the rope holding Renzo suspended. Izumo bit her lip, holding back guilty tears as she did nothing while Renzo struggled weakly against the second guard. The large man subdued Renzo easily, and from his pained whimpers it seemed to Izumo that the only thing Renzo had accomplished by fighting was to hurt himself even more. She was almost grateful when they took Renzo away even if it meant the end of her brief reprieve. 

Gedoin fiddled with a few last buttons on the fox helmet then stepped back. “We’re ready my dear, call the fox into you.”

* * *

Yamantaka stared at the towering chimera zombie as it shuffled toward him, completely unimpressed. He crouched and pressed his palms to the floor. Black flames raced across the room to envelop his adversary. After a few minutes the flames died away and an inanimate mass of ill-shapen flesh crashed to the floor. 

Then he allowed the promise binding him to Renzo to fill his senses. Renzo was close and the distress filling the bond between them set Yamantaka shivering violently as the need to do anything to reach Renzo, to destroy whatever was hurting him, came into direct conflict with the knowledge that Yamantaka himself would be harming Renzo if he went berserk. 

Helpless to do more Yamantaka clawed futilely at the wall closest to Renzo and howled his rage to the heavens.


	21. Alignment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was plotted before the revelations about Renzo’s backstory from chapters 64 and 65. To avoid spoilers, I will simply say they don’t apply.

Angel stood on a rocky outcropping above Delphi, his long white coat flapping majestically around him as he surveyed the scene below.

Branch by branch the bramble thicket engulfing the former military encampment was withdrawing. Small groups of men stumbled out of their thorny prison, blinking and shielding their eyes from a sun they hadn’t seen in days. They watched their former captures warily as they scrambled toward the hovering platoon of helicopters waiting to fly them out of Gaia’s Kingdom. The pilots were too fearful to land, instead they kept the helicopters hovering a foot or so off the ground as the men clambered on.

Lightning tramped up the hill to join Angel. “Moriyama-san prevailed over her more suspicious cohorts,” he reported. “All the hostages are to be released, regardless of rank or organization.”

Angel nodded. “Do you think they will submit to our demand that the borders of Gaia’s Kingdom remain fixed at their current location?”

“Gaia’s avery scary lady when you think about it, keying their gates to blood essentially means her followers are confirming their loyalty in blood every time they leave or enter the compound. And there’s no where to run if you betray her; all it takes for her to find you is for your feet to touch the Earth,” Lightning said. “She’ll agree to something, but it’ll be a miracle if we come to an agreement about the wording in under a month. Especially if Sir Pheles is going to keep dropping off suggestions then vanishing.”

“Our ‘ally’ is helping her build loop-holes into the agreement,” Angel said scornfully. 

“It wouldn’t be a proper demon oath without plenty of loop-holes,” Lightning replied with a grin. “Although Sir Pheles’ additions may suggest a desire to terraform Mars. I’ll have to ask if he’s picked up a sci-fi fandom recently.”

* * *

The heavy ‘savior mask’ threw off Izumo’s balance as she danced, every step she had to compensate for the unnatural, intrusive presence. At the control station above the lab floor Gedoin activated the mask and the demon’s presence began to rise. 

Father Nagatomo had taught Izumo to approach the demons she summoned with respect not with fear. But Izumo remembered the feel of Inari’s awakened power from the night when her mother had turned on her with claws and murder in her eyes and words that cut Izumo’s soul to ribbons. The bandaged wraith that was all that was left of Kamiki Tamamo held only the barest remnants of that power. Izumo didn’t know if power slept because her mother was so close to death or if Tamamo was close to death because the fox had retreated from her into hibernation. Still Izumo remembered her mother, adorned with fox-ears and nine tails, her dark hair turned silver and her eyes a demonic yellow. She remembered mother’s mouth dripping with blood as the possessed Tamamo gorged herself on her lover’s entrails. The price of Tsukumo’s safety was for Izumo to invite that thing into herself. Izumo’s relationship with her familiars was better than it had ever been. She’d allowed herself remembered that she loved them like brothers and she believed her ‘older brothers’ had learned a measure of respect for their ‘little sister’. But she didn’t know how to approach the thing that had possessed her mother that night without fear. 

Beyond her fear of Inari, Izumo was afraid for Tsukumo, for Rin. Afraid and guilty that her actions were causing Renzo further harm. Guilty because she was turning her back on the land and people she was meant to serve. Angry at the Illuminati woman who’d twice promised her support and twice failed to carry through. Angry at her mother whose weakness had put her in the position of needing to turn to outsiders in the first place. Angry at Miwa and Suguro because they’d forced a confidence from her, but those feelings paled beside the profound hatred she held for Gedoin; not that she’d forgive anyone who had ever used her loved ones to force her to capitulate. And beyond that Izumo was furious at herself and at the world because she wasn’t strong enough to protect everything that she should, everything she held as precious. Guilty and furious that she had to choose. Izumo’s heart and head were a swirl of unsettled emotions but her steps were precise and the savior mask’s pull on Inari was inexorable. As the nine-tail’s presence poured into her Izumo’s emotions only grew more chaotic, stronger. 

There were no words as Inari possessed her, but Izumo’s perception of the world tilted. Her eyes, now a lupine yellow, opened wide. //Mike! Uke!// Izumo reached out with her mind to her familiars, who had been secretly following her ever since she turned herself into the Illuminati. Fox-ears formed on top of her head and the first of nine-tails began to unfurl behind her. //I am done with being weak. We’re going to take Tsukumo back. They’ve taken measures to contain me, Inari I mean. Bring Rin here, I’m going to need him to get out of their trap. I’m going to end this. Just find a way to bring Rin here.//

* * *

Amaimon cocked his head to one side, listening. He heard the sounds of scuffling from several of the box-like cells, there were even sounds of someone climbing back up one of the chutes they’d been dropped into. He kept straining his ears, then he heard Yamantaka keening, Amaimon smiled and ripped that cell open. “Come on, we’re going to get Pink-hair for Shiemi,” the Earth King informed the other demon. 

Yamantaka didn’t question Amaimon’s decision to leave the rest of their allies behind. Renzo was close and very nearly lost to despair. Yamantaka remembered the day Takezo had traded his life for Yamantaka’s promise to see Renzo safe. He remembered the tiny little four-year-old curled up in the dark, a fist shoved in his mouth to keep from screaming. Without a word Yamantaka turned in the direction that his oath pulled him and took off at run. Amaimon pounded after him leaving the other five behind.

* * *

Konekomaru glanced over his shoulder fearfully. He had managed to escape the cell he’d been dropped into by using the chimera zombie to batter the hatch open but there was no closing the door behind himself. He’d hoped that the chute would be too small for the massive demon but it had managed to squeeze it’s bulk in as it chased after him. It filled the entire chute and the only thing keeping the small aria from plunging back into it’s waiting maw was friction.

With his back pressed against one side of the chute and his feet against the other, Konekomaru chimneyed up the slick-walled pipe. Inch by inch he worked his way back up the pipe. Below him the chute creaked alarmingly under the chimera zombie’s weight and mass as it forced itself further up the narrow passage. And then Koneomaru reached the top of the chute, he pulled himself out of the mouth of the funnel and stared up at the now closed trap door just a few feet above his head. There was no where left to run. In despair he turned back to watch the chimera zombie as it wriggled and squeezed itself toward him. Konekomaru stood at the mouth of the chute, he took out his prayer beads and tried to find the strength to face his fate. The zombie forced itself around a bend into the last, near vertical stretch of pipe. There was a shriek of tearing metal and a section of the chute collapsed sending the zombie crashing to the floor.

Konekomaru’s knees when out beneath him. For a moment he sat, collapsed at the mouth of the chute, caught between hysterical giggles and tears. Then he forced himself to take a deep breath and collect his wits. Cautiously he let himself down to the broken end of the chute and peered out. On the ground far below the zombie thrashed about, struggling to get free of the chute’s remains. Beside the cell Konekomaru had escaped from there were a dozen other box-like structures at the end of the other chutes. Konekomaru lay on his stomach and painstakingly slid down until he was hanging from the lip of broken chute by his fingertips. He swung his legs a few times to build momentum then let go. He fell to the roof of the nearest cell, rolling as he hit. 

Konekomaru peered through the air vent on the top of the cell. Inside one of the chimera zombies held Rin dangling by the ankle. Rin’s eyes were open but distant, unaware of his peril. “Rin!” Konekomaru shouted. 

Rin’s tail twitched, he turned toward Konekomaru then he gagged. Still upside his body curled in on itself, trying to expel the contents of his stomach. 

‘Something’s really wrong. There’s nothing I can do against a zombie, no time to get help, Rin has to save himself,’ Konekomaru thought quickly. ‘What’s wrong? Why isn’t he fighting? Rin couldn’t bring himself to kill zombie-infected humans once he understood what they were. He’s not like most demons, thinks of himself as less than human, not other than human. Gotta force him past that, force him to fight. Rin’s always quicker to respond to a threat to a friend than to himself. His oath to Bon would amplify…’ Konekomaru’s racing thoughts stumbled at that. ‘Rin has been off, badly off, ever since the confrontation with Izumo.’ An icy ball formed in the pit of Konekomaru’s stomach, ‘Ever since I brought his oath into the equation. Bon called it abuse.’ 

Konekomaru had always been quick to see solutions. When presented with a problem his mind raced to the most efficient path to overcome it. As a matter of principle Bon would pick at a Gordian knot before even considering any other solution. Bon was straightforward, hardheaded and stubbornly determined to do things the ‘right’ way. Konekomaru would jump straight to cutting through the knot. He believed in what he was trying to achieve and rarely let himself get hung up on the means needed to accomplish his goals as long as the goals themselves were sound. But the most efficient solution could leave pieces that couldn’t be put back together in it’s wake. Seeing Rin’s remote, pained expression, Konekomaru was instantly possessed by an absolute certainty that it was a direct result of his Alexandrian solution to the problem Izumo’s secrecy had created and he hesitated to use the oath again.

“Rin!” Konekomaru called more urgently as the chimera zombie began to lift Rin toward it’s maw. 

Maybe, using the blue flames that only Rin and Satan wielded, the zombies could be saved, maybe. Trying could cost them the chance to save Renzo. If Rin didn’t save himself now even the possibility that the zombies could be saved was gone and they’d be dependent on Amaimon and Egyn’s good will to complete their mission.

“Rin!!” Konekomaru screamed. “It’s going to eat you!”

Since the confrontation with Izumo, Rin’s reactions had been swinging between too much and too little. 

Maybe Rin wouldn’t thank him for it afterwards but if he didn’t trigger the oath Rin was going to die, right in front of him.

“If you don’t stop them **NOW** it will eat Bon!” Konekomaru shouted. Then he closed his eyes and covered his head with his arms.

* * *

A massive explosion of blue flames ripped through the feeder-cells, consuming both the chimera zombies and the cells holding them. Even chutes and the roof, far above burned away in seconds leaving a massive hole in the floor of the mall. The flames wrapped protectively around Bon, Konekomaru, Karura and Juuzo, recognizing them from the oath ceremony that had bound Rin to Bon and through him to the Myo’o Dharani. 

Egyn’s eyes widened with terror as he saw the blue flames baring down on him, a moment before the flames hit he threw open his heart. The water king’s human-seeming fell away leaving a senscient typhoon in his place. The spinning vortex of water met the wall of flames with a fierce hissing as steam exploded outward. Karura dove in front of Bon, spreading his wings wide to absorb the flames. Konekomaru and Juuzo cried out as the superheated wave of steam scalded every exposed inch of skin.

In the howling winds they could hear Egyn’s voice, “I won’t submit Father! I will not!” 

“Rin?” Bon called. He squinted, to try to find Rin in the mass of flames swirling through the vast cavern. A moment later the flames collapsed inward and Rin was standing in front of him. Through Rin’s flesh, the lurid glow of his flames were still visible, as if barely contained.

The water vortex turned and started toward Rin, it’s fury increasing with every second that passed. Rin bared his fangs, his tail lashed wildly as flames coalesced into horns crowning his temples. His eyes burned brilliantly as he drew Kurikara and set himself for a fight. With Bon behind him, Rin wouldn’t give an inch.

“Egyn! King of Water. Sixth ranked among the demons of Hell. Why are you here?” Juuzo demanded. His hands and face were spotted with blisters from the earlier explosion of steam. He stepped between Rin and Egyn, his staff held horizontally, barring Egyn’s path. 

The vortex faltered in its advance.

“What is your purpose here King of Water?” Juuzo challenged a second time.

“The return of Lady Shiemi’s knight.” The winds subsided and the water that was Egyn condensed until he no longer towered over the others. 

Juuzo turned on Rin and Bon. “Why are you here?” he asked again.

“To save Renzo,” Bon said. Rin and Konekomaru echoed him a half-breath later. 

“That’s right!” Juuzo snarled. “We’re all here to rescue Renzo. So what the fuck are you doing!?”

Rin slid Kurikara back into it’s sheathe. Egyn’s human form returned. 

Juuzo glared at all of them. “Are we all on the same page?” he demanded.

The others, even the Hell King nodded obediently.

“Okay, lets go,” Juuzo ordered. He glanced around, then in a totally different tone asked, “Where are Yamantaka and Amaimon?”

* * *

Renzo whimpered piteously as he was unceremoniously slung over one of the guard’s shoulders and hauled off. Somehow he’d expected that being cut down after being strung up by his wrists for more than a day to bring relief, instead there was an overwhelming sensation of pins and needles as unrestricted blood flow resumed in his arms followed by waves of renewed pain as nerves that had numbed began functioning again. 

For a moment Renzo greyed out and he was back in Delphi. 

_“An Illuminati spy, under my very nose,” Mephisto chuckled. “You are full of surprises Shima-san.”_

_“I don’t- Shiemi- What Shiemi’s trying to do- I don’t want to get in the way of that,” Renzo replied uneasily. “Can you get me out?”_

_“Your faith in my abilities touches me,” Mephisto said. “Tell me, what have you done for them thus far?”_

_“Not much really. All they asked was that I watch Izumo-chan. I’ve been fudging a bit since we moved into the old dorm.” Renzo shrugged, “I’m not sure that they’d like how close she and Rin-kun are getting, so I didn’t mention it.”_

_“Ahh, my lovely little cat’s paw.” Mephisto looked thoughtful. “She has become quite the positive influence on my little brother and a potential counter-balance for his oath to Suguro-kun. Perhaps having someone else to use in drawing out the Illuminati would be useful.”_

_“Me.” Renzo realized._

_Mephisto grinned, “You didn’t expect that my help would come for free did you?”_

But Izumo was here, Renzo had seen her in the lab. ‘Mephisto doesn’t need me after all,’ he thought worriedly. 

Then between one breath and the next the world froze. Shima blinked in disbelief as Mephisto strode up the hall. “I haven’t forgotten you Shima-san,” he tsked, leaning on his umbrella.

“Hurts,” Renzo pled.

“You’ve done very well,” Mephisto praised. “It’s almost over.”

“Lucifer’s gonna kill me.”

“You and Izumo-chan have both proven to be so much more interesting than I could have dreamed,” Mephisto said. “I would be loath to sacrifice either of you.”

“I don’t wanna die.”

“The calvary needs a moment to straighten themselves out but they’re coming,” Mephisto promised. “Just one more task.” 

Renzo shook his head, “No more.”

Mephisto’s eyes glittering from beneath the brim of his shining white top hat. “Take a moment to collect yourself Renzo-kun. A moment’s reprieve, then once more into the fire, After that you’ll be quit of the Illuminati once and for all.” He stepped back into the shadows. Even as he vanished his voice lingered in the air, “Now is the time for your escape clause, my dearest infiltrator.”


	22. Fox's Reckoning

One moment Yamantaka was racing down the hallway of the Illuminati base, resisting the urge to summon himself to Renzo’s side because he couldn’t bring anyone with him and when he arrived he’d need to fight for Renzo’s freedom; Amaimon’s powers weren’t fueled by Renzo’s life. The next moment Renzo was gone, no warning, no burst of fear or despair, no last sharp moment of agony, he simply vanished from Yamantaka’s awareness.

Yamantaka had never had a tamer like Renzo before. The battle against the demon that had kidnapped Renzo had been simple enough with sacrifice of Takezo’s life supercharging his powers. It had given Yamantaka no clue about how his oath to protect the then four-year-old Renzo would change him. 

The oath Yamantaka gave Takezo wasn’t limited to rescuing Renzo from his kidnapper; Yamantaka had sworn simply to protect Renzo. And so when Yamantaka sensed severe distress from Renzo the night after he’d rescued the little boy he immediately summoned himself to Renzo’s side to deal with whatever new danger was threatening Renzo. Instead of a threat, Yamantaka found himself in a quiet, darkened room. Renzo was asleep, but his heart was pounding, his blanket thrown off and his night clothes soaked with sweat. Yamantaka had been confused, dreams were more the domain of Spirit or Time demons, not Rot demons like the one that had kidnapped Renzo. Still Yamantaka had put a hand on Renzo’s back to try to sense if this were some sort of attack. Renzo had woken and immediately rolled over and clutched his rescuer. Night after night Renzo’s racing heartbeat had summoned Yamantaka to his side. Gradually the ancient demon had gotten used to being used as a teddy bear by the traumatized child and in time Renzo started trusting Yamantaka with the fragmented memories that haunted his dreams: A dark, dank passage. Fetid breath, the stench of decay coming from between lips that brushed against his cheek as his capturer murmured to him gleefully: _“Drag you down into the dark with me where you’ll lie forgotten by everyone except the insects. The flies they come first. They’ll lay their eggs in your eyes and mouth, flesh so tasty, so nutritious. Then come the ants, crawling over you, picking away at your flesh with their sharp mandibles, crawling over your gums, down your throat…”_ It was only in his nightmares that Renzo seemed to remember the kidnapping at all, nightmares that only Yamantaka knew of, and Renzo’s family considered it a blessing that he didn’t remember. 

From the first moment when he’d been brought home to Kyoto, of all his family, Renzo had always been closest to Takezo. As an infant want he’d wanted the older boy to hold him above all others and he’d followed Takezo everywhere as soon as he could walk. In turn Takezo had regularly been the first to wake when Renzo cried at night and had never turned the little boy away if he could help it. With the entire family reeling from Takezo’s death, Yamataka’s supernatural awareness of Renzo enabled the demon to step into the gap before anyone fully recognized that it existed. By the time Renzo had started school, the fire demon had become his only true confidant. As Renzo grew older and learned more about his family’s role as exorcists it was Yamantaka whom he asked about the divide between Assiah and Gehenna, about the role of familiars and exorcists’ use of demon powers to fight demons. When Renzo was eleven he was taught about Iblis and the Fire King’s declaration of all out war on humanity and that led in turn to Yamantaka realized the oddities of a child raised to be an exorcist who felt more kinship with a demon than with his own family. _“So would you be safe if I asked you to hurt humans once and awhile? I saw on the TV, some humans do things as bad as the Blue Night. If I told you to hurt them, would it keep Iblis from hurting with you?”_

Yamantaka had been well over a thousand years old before Renzo’s birth, he’d been a familiar to generations of the Shima family, but the little boy became something completely unique to the ancient demon. Tamers came and went, Yamantaka balanced their demands against Iblis’. He manipulated his tamers so the access to Assiah that they granted him pleased Iblis. Tamers were a means to an end at best an inconvenience at worst, Yamantaka had never cared. Until Renzo, he had never cared.

Amaimon poked the frozen fire demon. “Well? Where do we go now?” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” Yamantaka said his eyes hollow.

* * *

“Yamantaka could sense Ren,” Juuzo said sounding daunted. “He was supposed to lead us to him.”

“I- Maybe I can find him.” ”Rin said hesitantly. “Renzo was one of the people who took care of me after I tried to kill myself.” He glanced back at Bon and Konekomaru. “All of you, well, you kind of got me to make little promises not to do that again, that I shouldn’t ‘cause you care. It might not work; they’re sneaky, little promises, there’s not much weight to them. I don’t have a promise to protect Renzo to use; but I knew Renzo and Shiemi weren’t dead when they disappeared. Maybe I can do something.”

“Try,” Bon ordered. 

Rin closed his eyes, trying to reclaim the moment where his soul had been all but ripped out of his body and his only connections to Assiah had been the bonds he shared with his friends. Born half-human, raised as a human Rin’s awareness of demon oaths was mostly subconscious and the oath he’d given Bon overshadowed every other promise he’d ever made. As Rin struggled to isolate his ties to Renzo Uke and Mike materialized in a swirl of smoke. 

“What are you two doing here?” Bon demanded glaring at the byakko angrily. 

Rin paled dramatically, forgetting his efforts at locating Renzo in a rush of pure panic. 

“Izumo saw Shima. We’ll lead you there,” Mike said, without acknowledging Bon’s demand. 

“How is she even here in the first place?” Bon snapped.

“I’m sorry!” Rin collapsed at Bon’s feet, his tailed curled tightly against his body, his forehead practically crashing against the floor.

“Stop that!” Bon protested, utterly nonplused as Rin continued to stammer nearly incoherent apologies. 

Rin started shivering violently as Bon’s order only increased his internal conflict and Bon felt sick. He dropped to his knees beside Rin and pulled him off the floor. “It’s okay!” he insisted reflexively. Then with more thought he said, “Do you remember the first week of class, the reaper, calling me on acting like an idiot? ‘Cause you were right, I was being stupid, risking my life like that, and I needed to hear it.” Rin blinked at Bon in confusion. “That’s what I want, no need, from you. I don’t need, or want, you agreeing with me all the time.”

Rin took a shaky breath. “I let Izumo escape,” he confessed.

Bon grimaced. “I didn’t say anything about holding her prisoner,” he said hoping the words and facts would help even though they both knew he wasn’t happy about Izumo’s involvement. “Sometimes I’m wrong,” he continued. “Sometimes I’m stubborn or I lose my temper. If we’re going to beat Satan, it’ll take more than your flames.” He tapped Rin’s temple and over his heart, “We’ll need this and this backing them up.”

“We should hurry,” Uke said, starting toward the door.

Rin gathered himself and looked to Bon. 

“Even if they’re not supposed to be here, they’re our best lead,” Bon sighed. 

Rin leapt to his feet. Uke and Mike traded a look and raced down the hall with Rin right behind them at a speed no human could hope to match. Before the others quite realized what was happening they’d been left behind. 

Juuzo cursed angrily, “Egyn, please, don’t let them lose us.” 

The Water King nodded and ran ahead. He barely caught sight of the Byakko’s tails as they dashed around a corner further up the hall. When he reached the corner he quickly carved a crude arrow in the wall before hurrying on.

* * *

Izumo couldn’t remember why she’d ever been afraid of summoning Inari, power ran through her veins full of the promise of righteous retribution. The one who’d hurt her, her family and her land stood before her gloating over what he’d done. He wouldn’t know what hit him. 

With barely a twitch of her new fox-ears to give warning, Izumo stopped dancing and leapt at Gedoin. A thick plexiglass barricade dropped around her. Izumo bounced off the glass. Rolling to her feet she ripped off the ‘Savior Mask’ and sneered at Gedoin, her eyes were slit-pupiled and yellow, her mouth crowded with sharply pointed teeth. She flexed her clawed hands lightly but didn’t test the barrier. Uke and Mike would bring Rin, he wasn’t like her mother’s worthless mate, he would deal with this inconvenience for her. 

“Izumo,” Tamamo whispered hoarsely as the mask came off revealing Izumo’s transformed features. 

Izumo glanced at her mother then turned away dismissively. She paced back and forth behind the barrier glaring at Gedoin while straining her senses for hints of Uke and Mike’s return.

“Wonderful, wonderful,” Gedoin clucked as he glanced from screen to screen on his device. “I haven’t seen such powerful readings since the old hag was first captured.” 

Ten minutes later the door to the lab disintegrated in a wave a blue flames. Izumo smiled as Rin walked through the flames flanked by Uke and Mike, he was beatiful and bleeding power and there when she needed him. A part of her had still insisted that she could only depend on herself, but in her heart she’d known he’d come. The feel of the Myo’o Dharani boy’s chains on her mate aggravated her, but in spite of them he’d come. 

Rin stopped just inside the lab and stared at the blood speckled floor where Renzo had been, his eyes narrowing and his lips drawing back in a silent snarl. 

“Blue flames,” Gedoin mumbled to himself. “The Satan child. Guards! Where are my guards? Useless! Everyone but me is useless! Guards!” 

“Rin! Break the barrier!” Izumo called. 

Rin nodded, his flames drew in close to his sword as he concentrated his power along the ha of the blade, tempering his power to a cutting edge as the sword itself was tempered. In one stroke he sliced through the barrier leaving the plexiglass at the edge of his cut melted and dripping.

Izumo surged through the new opening and sprung at Gedoin. Before the mad scientist could do more than squeal in alarm she wrapped a clawed hand around his throat and slammed him across his device’s control panel. “Where is Tsukumo?” Izumo snarled. “What have you done with my sister?”

Gedoin’s eyes rolled wildly, searching for salvation. “I’m human,” he gasped to Rin. “You can’t let her kill me.”

“It’s Shima’s blood,” Mike murmured, sniffing at the red-splattered floor of the lab.

“I know,” Rin said, his voice low and harsh. “Can you lead me to where Renzo is now?” He refused to look at Gedoin.

Izumo smiled, revealing a mouthful of serrated teeth. She climbed on top of the console, using her knee to pin Gedoin like a turtle on it’s back. Then she grabbed his wrist and slowly forced his fingers open. “Do you want to reconsider your answer?” she asked.

Uke bounded across the lab and started worrying at Tamamo’s restraints. “Hurry! hurry!” the older miko pleaded. “Izumo’s losing herself.”

“Save me!” Gedoin shrieked at Rin. “I’m human, you care about that!”

Rin spun around baring his teeth at Gedoin. “Back when I didn’t believe in demons I beat the hell out of a bunch of guys for killing a couple pigeons. What do you think I would do to mass-murdering bastard like you?”

“Stop Izumo, for her sake,” Tamamo told Rin urgently. “The fox will consume her.”

Rin’s gaze flickered between Izumo and Tamamo. “Izumo?” he asked.

“I can handle it,” Izumo snarled. “I won’t be his victim anymore.”

“That’s what it feels like,” Tamamo insisted. “With the fox’s power rushing through your veins you feel invincible. Like nothing can touch you, like human values don’t matter.”

“I gave you a chance,” Izumo said. She raised Gedoin’s hand to her mouth and bit his smallest finger off. Izumo’s nose wrinkled up in disgust and she immediately spat the finger back out. Gedoin howled in terror and pain as his blood fountained from his stump of a finger. “You’ve polluted your flesh as thoroughly as you’ve polluted my land,” Izumo complained

Rin cringed at Gedoin’s wails, but rather than interfering he occupied himself by helping Uke free Tamamo from her restraints. Mike prowled warily around Izumo and Gedoin.

“Scream if you like,” Izumo hissed as she crouched over Gedoin. “No one cares. These walls are saturated with pleas for mercy that went unheeded. Your screams mean nothing; my ears are choked with the cries of your victims.” 

“Izumo, no!” Tamamo cried. 

“I won’t fail Tsukumo!” Izumo snarled. “I’m not like you!” She raised Gedoin’s hand to her blood stained mouth a second time. “What have you done with my sister? Where is she?” 

“I don’t know!” Gedoin wailed. 

Izumo bit off a second finger, spitting it back in his face. Then she forced his thumb away from his palm. “Opposable digits are so very useful,” she remarked. “One of the best parts of taking human form. I wonder if you’ll miss yours once they’re gone.”

“I don’t know! I swear I don’t know!” Tears ran down Gedoin’s face. “That woman hid her, we never managed to learn where. I lied when I told you I could still hurt her!”

Bon, Konekomaru, Juuzo and Egyn burst through the door. The three humans stared in shock and horror at Izumo’s transformation. After a glance around the room, Egyn crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot impatiently.

“You told me there was nowhere safe,” Izumo accused, her voice rising precipitously. “Nowhere for her to run.”

“I lied, I swear it. We never found her. I couldn’t hurt her if I tried,” Gedoin sobbed. 

“I believe you,” Izumo said. Rin’s head snapped around as her voice broke. For a moment she simply looked lost. Then Izumo drove her hand through Gedoin’s chest and yanked his heart out.

“Izumo!” Mike exclaimed. 

Belatedly Rin lunged toward Izumo, only to pull up short. “What do I do?” he asked Bon. 

Juuzo raised his staff, watching Izumo warily. 

Gedoin whimpered as his heart beat it’s last in Izumo’s hand. 

Konekomaru gagged. 

Tamamo’s shoulders straightened. She nudged Uke aside and started walking toward Izumo.

Izumo sniffed at the heart, her nose wrinkled and she dropped it on the floor. She shook her hand fastidiously as if trying to get rid of the blood but was confused about how to manage it. When she leapt off the console there was nothing human about how she moved.

“I won’t let you have my daughter,” Tamamo said firmly as she confronted the fox in Izumo’s body. Izumo’s lips drew back in a snarl. She slashed at her mother with her claws. Tamamo gracefully evaded her attack. “Tamamo asks of you, fulfill my prayers,” she said as she began to dance. With the appearance of effortlessness Tamamo slid past each of Izumo’s attacks, never breaking rhythm or giving ground. Then Tamamo stopped and pulled Izumo into her arms. “Come back to me, I beseech you.” 

For a moment Tamamo remained standing, almost embracing her daughter as the color bled back into Izumo’s hair and the fox tails and ears faded. Then Tamamo collapsed. Izumo caught her mother as she fell, easing her to the floor.

Tamamo smiled weakly as she reached up to brush Izumo’s hair from her face. “I don’t have much time. Don’t repeat my mistakes Treasure. You must be centered when you open yourself to Inari. Our blood is too thin to contain all of the nine-tails, when we dance we only call a single aspect: the sickle to harvest the rice or the whip to burn it, the guardian or the trickster. When you dance what you hold in your heart determines the aspect you call forth. Remember that Treasure.” Tamamo’s hand fell to her side. “I’m sorry Izumo and I love y…” Tamamo’s voice trailed off in a soft exhalation, she didn’t draw breath again.

“Mom? Mommy?” Izumo called plaintively.

Konekomaru crouched beside them. He rested his fingers on Tamamo’s throat for a long moment then sat back on his heels and shook his head.

There was a moment of silence.

“Well?” Egyn demanded. “This isn’t a dead-end. My lady’s knight was bleeding, the beasts are related to dogs, surely they are able to follow a scent.”

Izumo used her stole to cover her mother’s face then brushed aside her tears and stood. She staggered as she came to her feet. Rin caught her and pulled her close to his side. “They were taking Shima to Lucifer’s audience chamber,” Izumo reported. “They’re waiting so they can kill him in front of Rin. He was in bad shape, really bad.”

“Lucifer? The King of Light is here? How can we…” Juuzo trailed off in shock. Then he surveyed the rescue party. He squared his shoulders as if accepting a burden. “Bon, Konekomaru, you’re staying here. Put up a barrier and dig in until reinforcements get here.”

“What!?” Bon exclaimed.

“Kamiki can’t go on and her familiars won’t leave her undefended,” Juuzo pointed out brusquely. 

“Then I’ll have Karura fly her out,” Bon argued. “We’re not crippling the rescue team like that, Konekomaru and I aren’t staying behind.”

Looking crushed Konekomaru moved to stand with Juuzo. 

The older boy pulled himself up to his full height and glared at Bon. “Suguro Ryuji, right now you’re acting like a spoiled brat but you’re our head priest. That means sometimes you don’t get to lead the charge. We are going up against Lucifer, the first ranked King of Hell. You are not coming with us.”

“What’s the point of me being the Myodha’s leader if I’m not allowed to take risks for my people?” Bon demanded.

“Renzo’s just one person,” Juuzo spat, looking both stricken and furious Bon was forcing him to say it. “The only chance we stand against Lucifer is to grab Ren and run. I need you and Konekomaru to make contact with the True Cross reinforcements as soon as possible. If we’re lucky Lucifer won’t be willing to start a war with the Vatican to keep Renzo.”

“There’s gotta-” 

Juuzo turned his back on Bon. “Egyn, Okumura… If you could manage to bring the ceiling down on Lucifer or something once we have Renzo that might help.”

The tip of Rin’s tail twitched in agitation. He tried to mollify Bon, “If I knew you and Izumo were safe it’d be easier to focus on getting Renzo back safe.” Then he flashed an optimistic grin. “We’ll catch up with Amaimon and Yamantaka in no time. That’ll be two Hell Kings plus the other three of us against one.”

Egyn snorted. “I like the human’s plan, except it’s Gaia we need to retreat to. Even Samael would be hard pressed to survive a battle with Lucifer.

* * *

“Pink-hair was in this direction, right?” Amaimon prodded Yamantaka.

Slowly the fire demon nodded, “He’s not there now.”

“I’m not going back to Shiemi empty handed,” Amaimon stated. “If he’s been taken somewhere else there might be clues. If he’s dead I’ll kill whoever’s standing over the body and take their head back to Shiemi.” 

Yamantaka considered Amaimon. “Yes,” he agreed harshly, “Whoever hurt Renzo dies.”

They continued down the hallway, scanning the intersecting branches for any signs of the pink-haired exwire. The Illuminati laboratory was a maze of identical featureless hallways. The two demons pressed on as the minutes wasted away without finding the slightest hint of Renzo’s fate. 

Then, suddenly Yamantaka’s head jerked up, a joyous smile overtook his face. “Renzo’s behind us.”

Amaimon gave a put-upon sigh as he turned to retrace their steps. 

“He is moving upward,” Yamantaka reported several minutes later. 

Amaimon stuck out his lower lip in a pout “More looking for stairs?” he complained. 

Yamantaka ignored him and headed for the last place Renzo had been while still on lower level of the laboratory. 

“Not bad,” Amaimon allowed when they found themselves standing in front of an elevator several minutes later. He picked a floor halfway to the top of the building. “Up or down?” he asked when the elevator opened on a residential floor. 

“Up,” Yamantaka replied and Amaimon split the difference again. “Up,” Yamantaka repeated as soon as the elevator stopped moving. This time Amaimon went straight for the top floor of the building. Sunlight streamed down on the wide hall from a bevy of skylights. The Illuminati Oath was written in bold, bright script over the oak double doors at the end of the hall. Yamantaka started forward but Amaimon grabbed his arm and hauled the taller demon back into the elevator then punched the button for the basement floor repeatedly. “Lucifer is in there!” the Earth King hissed, his eyes wide and fearful. 

“Renzo is there,” Yamantaka countered.

Amaimon shook his head. “Going up against Lucifer with just you for help is begging to be dead,” he stated. “Aniki says Rin’s important to Father, Lucifer might hesitate to kill him. And if Egyn comes I’ll never call Bastard-ni a coward again.”

* * *

“Commander, the traitor is prepared,” the woman with the white-striped hair announced as she led the guards carrying Renzo into Lucifer’s audience chamber.

“You are usually more efficient,” Lucifer remarked. “Did you encounter difficulties?” 

The woman looked puzzled, reflexively she glanced at her wristwatch and her eyes widened. “Commander, there is no excuse I can offer. I apologize for our tardiness.” She turned to the guards. “You two, move sharply. We’ve already wasted enough of the commander’s precious time!”

Lucifer frowned thoughtfully then shook his head. “No, Samael wouldn’t dare,” he said to himself.

Renzo whimpered when the guard grabbed the rope tied to his bound wrists. The slightest movement of his arms sent spikes of white hot agony shooting from his dislocated shoulders. The thought of being strung up by his wrists again was unendurable.

Lucifer walked over and caught Renzo’s chin, tilting his face up. “You’re all but broken,” the Hell King murmured. “Just one more push and you’ll beg for an end, any end. No this won’t do. You betrayed me. To suffer pain is not the punishment I have decreed, the end of your existence is not an escape.” 

Renzo bit his lip and forced himself not to cringe away from Lucifer or avoid his gaze.

“I have some aspirin,” the woman commented dryly. 

“Better than nothing,” Renzo replied weakly.

“We’ll have to find a different way to keep him off the ground,” the woman continued. She glanced around, her eyes lighting on a small desk in the corner.

In a short while they had the legs off the desk and the top suspended from the ceiling. They bound Renzo’s wrists to his ankles and then to the desktop so he couldn’t throw himself to the ground. Renzo’s head hung down, his breath came in short sobbing gasps as he was forced to endure being bound but once they were done the pain from his shoulders gradually eased to a dull throb that echoed his heartbeat.

Lucifer watched as Renzo was secured, then he stepped forward. Standing in front of Renzo he addressed his followers. “So many fall prey to the trap of seeing the world as black and white, demons versus humans, Assiah versus Gehenna,” he proclaimed. “But I see the truth: There are demons who would gladly stab me in the back; there are humans who would be true. And in truth there are no demons excepting my father; Satan is the only surviving pure demon. Similarly one would be hard-pressed to find a human without at least one demon ancestor. Willfully, demons can cast aside their power for a time and live as humans. In extremis humans can find the spark of their demon heritage and fan it into a bonfire. Through the labors of this organization we have learned to take the powers of unworthy demons and transfer it to more deserving human hosts.” Lucifer crouched slightly to speak directly to Renzo. “I trusted your word, believed that you were among the worthy and promised you power accordingly. Now you will have your power.”

“Never gave a damn about power,” Renzo protested tiredly. “Always had plenty, had Yamantaka. Wanted something to believe in, something _worth_ dying for. Your Illuminati are… a gilded turd. I‘m loyal to- to-” For a moment he fell silent, gathering his strength. “We will guide the world to unity,” he said firmly.

Lucifer leaned closer to Renzo, lowering his voice to a whisper. “You think you can escape your oath by claiming literal adherence? I can feel the meaning you’ve infused into it even now.” 

“But tell yourself that your only desire was world peace, cling to your self-delusion and see if it saves your soul,” Lucifer continued. “Because you will die within the next hour. My little brother’s mission to rescue you will fail abjectly. You will die in front of him and I will send him home to Samael with your broken body as proof of the futility of opposing me.” 

“However, if your wager is correct, in a few thousand years you will be reborn.” Lucifer shook his head and smirked. “But I doubt it. ‘We will guide. We are the brave warriors. We do not go astray. We do not fear death.’ My oath does not emphasize our solidarity by chance. You were one of us and you know in your heart that you have betrayed our fellowship.”


	23. Fear of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early up-date because I've had this chapter largely written for weeks and I'm anxious to see how it's received.

_“An organization which holds out the promise a demon’s immortality then demands that you renounce your fear of death upon joining up.” Mephisto whistled appreciatively, “I wouldn’t have expected that degree of subtlety from my older brother.”_

_Renzo flinched._

_“A certain fear of death is a natural and appropriate response,” Mephisto said. “I can and do tell you that reincarnation is a fact. Death is rarely the end for a human, although YOU have certainly placed your immortal soul in a fair amount of jeopardy. Even so, even if you had not made a deal with a rather inimical demon, I would still be lying if I told you death was not a thing to be feared. The being that you are now is completely unique, the sum of your experiences, actions and thoughts, once you die that being will never exist again. The most common mistake demons make when encountering a reincarnate of a person they knew previously is to try to simply pick up where they left off. No matter how many times I may find a certain soul, in life after life, each time I must form a new relationship with the person they are now. The core of them may be the same, may draw me in the same way, but the person I knew before is gone. If there is one thing on which I agree with my father, it is that I wish this were not so. But this is the world both you and I live in: When you die something irreplaceable is lost.”_

_“So you’re saying I’m screwed,” Renzo said flatly._

_“I wouldn’t go that far,” Mephisto replied. “You do possess certain uncommon advantages: You don’t invest your words with unnecessary meaning. You shield your heart carefully behind walls of obfuscation. You have an ingrained reluctance to commit yourself; you hoard your capacity for attachment. In short you have a demon’s upbringing. I’m quite embarrassed that I didn’t see it earlier, all I can say in my defense is that it is not something I look for in a human.”_

_“Yamantaka is the only adult in my life who has ever put my best interest first,” Renzo replied bitterly. “I’m not just a disposable extension of my family.”_

_“Perhaps we will get along very well, Shima-san,” Mephisto replied. “One longstanding point of dispute between the Eldest and myself is that I insist on being treated as in individual, not an extension of ANYONE’S will.”_

_“Now about your predicament. It’s a risky business, attempting to collect on an oath using anything but the literal words, a demon can only feel whether or not the meaning that THEY have invested the words with is upheld.” Mephisto paused thoughtfully, “I would say you stand an excellent chance of satisfying your oath without actually serving Lucifer in anyway. Of course, once it becomes apparent that your loyalty does not belong to the Illuminati my older brother will undoubtedly retaliate, inciting your natural fear of death to cause you to break your oath. So, regretfully, I must advise you to learn to accept your death.”_

_Renzo’s breath caught._

_“A common, relatively healthy, method is to recognize that while your life is precious, there are other things which you may value even more,” Mephisto continued. “In your case, I would recommend Shiemi-chan as a good starting point. Could you accept death if it kept her from harm? Of course, I can only offer advice. You must decide for yourself what it is that you value above this unique life of yours.”_

_“So what good are you anyway?” Renzo demanded angrily. “If all you can do is tell me to obey the words of the Illuminati Oath but not Lucifer and to accept it when he murders me?”_

_“It was my plan to use Izumo-chan to draw out the Illuminati,” Mephisto announced. “Her experiences left her with almost no aptitude for the role of a miko in spite of her blood-line. This made her an ideal cats-paw; even if I lost her the Illuminati would gain little to nothing in having her. But, as I said, she has become valuable in other ways, not to mention improving her potential as an intermediary of Inari. It would benefit me to use you in her place. In return for your help in this matter, I will do my best to see that you do not die when Lucifer attempts to collect on your oath.”_

_“If Lucifer calls in your promise and you have not broken it; or if he has failed to uphold his end; his claim on your soul will be gone. But be warned, Shima-san, for this to work it will have to go far enough that Lucifer would be convinced that you have broken some aspect of your oath and putting your faith in my ability to preserve your life is not the same as not fearing death.”_

* * *

After Rin, Juuzo, Egyn and the byakko had gone ahead Konekomaru looked from the dried blood in front of the entrance to the still spreading pool of around Gedoin’s body. “We should move to a different room,” he said.

Bon nodded. “We’ll head back to the cells they first dropped us. Rin cleared the zombies out of the area and with the massive hole he left in the ceiling the reinforcements should find it fast.” He hesitated for a moment then walked over to where Izumo knelt beside her mother’s body. “We have to move, the blood’ll attract demons.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll help with your mom.”

Izumo glared up at him. “I don’t need your help,” she snarled. “Come forth kin of Miketsu,” she called pressing her finger to a summoning paper. “Come forth kin of Uke Mochi. Your former miko has fallen-” Izumo’s voice broke. Quietly she asked, “Take her home for me?”

A horde of tiny fox spirits appeared. Sniffling tearfully they lifted Tamamo’s body on their shoulders. “She was always so cute,” they murmured to each other. Their spokesman bowed to Izumo before taking his place. “Thank you for granting us this honor.”

With a stubborn look on his face Bon offered Izumo his arm.

“Don’t touch me,” Izumo exclaimed sharply.

Bon scowled, “I’m not the one who dragged Rin into the mess your secrecy caused.”

Konekomaru flinched while Izumo glared right back at Bon, unrepentant.

“And even if I were,” Bon continued. “Get over it. You’re barely on your feet. Rin, Renzo, Juuzo, your familiars and the others are in way over their heads and the only thing we’re allowed to do is point the reinforcements in their direction, so we’re going to do that to the very best of our abilities. Which means getting back to the start of this damn maze so the reinforcements don’t waste time looking for us. So let me help you or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and haul you there like a damn bag of rice.”

Scowling darkly Izumo stood, leaning heavily on Bon’s arm. “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you,” she hissed at him.

“Fine with me. ‘Cause you’re the one that ought to beg forgiveness,” Bon shot back. “Koneko, scout the hall ahead, next foxes, then Kamiki and I’ll guard the rear.”

“Wait a minute,” Konekomaru said as he looked up from examining one of Gedoin’s control panels. “I think I can seal most of the zombies up from here. There might be a way of securing the base without hurting any more of them.”

Bon jerked around and stared at Konekomaru. “Rin was right? They can be saved?” he asked horrified. “You and Juuzo lied?”

“I don’t know!” Konekomaru exclaimed. “Normally zombies can’t be saved. But with Rin’s flames? Maybe. Either way, telling Rin now wouldn’t have been good. He can’t take additional risks to avoid killing them; without him they’ve got no chance at all. But if I can lock down the base so we don’t have to fight them we’ll have plenty of time to figure out how to save them afterwards.”

“Have fun explaining that to Rin,” Bon said darkly.

“I know,” Konekomaru replied quietly. “Do you think I want to hurt him? That I haven’t thought about just letting common knowledge prevail? Exorcists KNOW zombies can’t be saved, it would be easier on Rin if we just convinced him of what everyone knows is true. But maybe he can succeed where all conventional measures failed and save them. If we can engineer a way of trying without risking the whole mission and all our lives in the process-”

“I can’t believe NOT telling him even crossed your mind,” Bon said condemningly.

Konekomaru ducked his head over the console, his shoulders pulling in. “I’m done,” he said after a few seconds.

The trek back to the feeder cells was made in silence. Once there Bon stared up at the gaping hole Rin had burned in the ceiling. “Karura, could you fly us up?” he asked. 

While the pheonix carried Konekomaru up first the fox spirits formed a living pyramid and passed Tamamo’s body up themselves.

“Okay, your turn,” Bon told Izumo when Karura returned. 

Izumo ignored him and staggered over to the foxes. “Please?” she requested stretching a hand out to them. They nodded and promptly began hauling her up to the surface.

Bon waited until Izumo was safely up then let Karura take him up.

* * *

Renzo knelt on the little, suspended platform, head bowed, shivering slightly in the flimsy hospital gown. ‘Stupid,’ he thought. ‘Stupid, arguing with him, giving myself away. But… I don’t want to die.’ Tears silently leaked out of the corners of his eyes. “You will die within the next hour,” Lucifer had told him and Renzo was terrified. He wasn’t going to live to see his eighteenth birthday and he couldn’t make peace with that. 

Somewhere Renzo could hear the ticking of a clock, counting down his last minutes. He didn’t know if the sound was real or in his head but either way the countdown was real. If he couldn’t accept his death before Rin and the others came to rescue him even if they succeeded in saving him Mephisto’s plan would fail, Lucifer would have his soul.

Renzo pictured Shiemi in his mind, her gentle smile, her determination. That she’d successfully peeled back his masks and still smiled at him. Renzo had realized, long ago, that the people around him would never accept half of what he thought. What would his family of exorcists think of him if they knew he loved and trusted his familiar more than anyone human? It only got worse after the Myodha joined with the True Cross. Renzo could not comprehend why they were told to make distinctions between humans and animals but were expected to look at demons as an undifferentiated mass of evil. It was blatantly obvious that his family’s salamander familiars were as loyal and loving as any dog, but they weren’t the same as a being like Yamantaka who was intelligent, capable of reason as well as love. Long before he encountered the Illuminati Renzo had suspected that most demons carried human blood and he knew every Tamer had a demon ancestor somewhere in their family tree. Renzo taught himself to smile and nod and keep his thoughts to himself; to protect himself from ostracism he walled himself up behind masks and lies. Because, from what Renzo could see, there was no one among the Myodha who wouldn’t abhor him if they knew that he honestly couldn’t understand why killing demons was a good thing while killing humans was a terrible crime. 

‘Not helping,’ Renzo thought. ‘That’s how I ended up in the Illuminati in the first place.’

Experimentally he tried to wiggle his fingers. He couldn’t feel anything in his hands, hadn’t been able to feel anything in ages. He forced himself to think about the effects of what had been done to him. He’d been hung from his wrists for over a day, the ropes biting into his flesh, cutting off circulation to his hands. He thought about the zombies he’d seen in the lab while he’d hung there helplessly. He pictured gangrene setting into his hands, the fingers slowly shriveling, turning black and falling off. Renzo made himself remember the feel of his shoulders dislocating, the unsupported tendons and ligaments slowly tearing apart under the weight of his body, the high likelihood that he’d suffered nerve-damage. That there was a good chance that even if his hands didn’t simply rot away he’d still lose the use of them. ‘Do I really want to live without my hands? My body’s broken, probably beyond repair. Wouldn’t it be better to just die now?’ 

Lucifer glanced up sharply then turned to Renzo. “Your friends are almost here,” he said. 

The woman with the white-striped hair fitted the device Gedoin had given her into Renzo’s ear. “It will activate with the press of a button,” she said standing behind the pink-haired boy, her finger on the switch.

The double doors burst open, splintering around the latch and coming clean off the hinges. Rin and Amaimon led the charge. “The door was unlocked,” Lucifer observed mildly. “One would think you were raised in a barn, little brother.”

Renzo’s eyes focused past Rin, on the familiar figure of his older brother. ‘Juu-ni came, maybe I matter to them after all,’ the thought soothed an ache Renzo had believed he’d gotten over ages ago.

“I’m afraid you’ve come a long way and gone through much hardship for nothing,” Lucifer continued. The woman with the white-striped hair pushed the switch on the demon-eater device behind Renzo’s ear and Renzo felt an immense pressure building up in his head as the device activated. “Truly it is for the best,” Lucifer told the others. “He betrayed his family to me, then turned around and stabbed me in the back for young Gaia. How could anyone trust one such as that? It was only a matter of time before he betrayed Gaia in turn.” 

At Lucifer’s words Renzo started to struggle. The measure of peace he’d found at the realization that his family would still come for him even now, even after the lengths he’d gone to to reject the plans they’d made for him had been exposed, evaporated. More than anything else Renzo did not want to die with Lucifer’s words being the last impression his friends and family had of him. 

For the first time in years, Renzo wanted to damn the consequences and explain himself. For the first time he found himself willing to risk rejection if it meant the chance of being understood and possibly, maybe being accepted for himself. He fought and screamed and wished there was something he could say to make them to make them understand him in one sentence after a life-time of hiding who he was. He didn’t want to die without them know that, even if he’d hidden himself from them, he still loved them. But the pressure was reaching an unbearable crescendo in his head and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it now. 

//It’s going to be alright.// Yamantaka vanished and Renzo burst into black flames. The ropes around Renzo’s wrists torn, he wailed, his back arching as he changed. Bottomless blackness filled his eyes, horns erupted from his skull and a tail grew. “Lucifer, King of Light, your promise has NOT been fulfilled,” Renzo heard Yamantaka saying with his mouth. “You have given Renzo nothing, you have no claim on him. My power has always been his!” And then Yamantaka’s presence was gone.

Renzo stared at his hands, his fingers tipped with claws and wreathed in Yamantaka’s flames but with no hint of his familiar’s essence remaining. “Bring him back! Bring him back!” Renzo screamed at Lucifer. Suddenly he lunged at the King of Light. “You took him! I’ll burn your heart out!”

Lucifer caught him by the throat and held him at arms’ length. A blinding luminescence emanated from the Hell King and Renzo felt as if his very being was disintegrating under the harsh glare. The black flames that had surrounded him flickered and went out like a candle in a hurricane. 

A blue blur slammed into Lucifer. “Let him go!” Rin snarled.

Renzo collapsed, dizzily gasping for air, spots swimming in his vision. Amaimon grabbed his shoulder and tossed him back at the others. A pair of strong arms caught him, Renzo looked up blurrily, he realized it was Juuzo holding him just as he lost consciousness. 

Lucifer drew the sword hanging at his waist as he rose. It was a dress sword, the guard was an elaborate mess of filigree and the blade was covered in delicate engraving. The much more utilitarian Kurikara should have sheared through it like tissue paper but as soon as his sword came to Lucifer’s hand it’s blade was filled with a glowing luminescence and when the blades met, Lucifer’s sword held.

Rin instantly riposted, trying to get past Lucifer’s guard before the older demon recovered from his parry. The months Rin had spent sparring with Angel showed plainly; his movements were fast, smooth and economical as he shifted from one attack to the next with barely a heartbeat between but Lucifer countered every blow with an almost lazy air. 

“Was I as weak as you once?” Lucifer asked. “The time before we were cast out into the void is cloaked in mist for me, but I find it hard to imagine being so pitiful.” 

Rin forced himself to ignore Lucifer’s taunting and focus on his swordsmanship. He had a bad feeling that going berserk wouldn’t help against the King of Light. As he fought Rin tried to reign in his flames and direct his power toward amplifying his speed, consciously trying to push past his body’s limits. Rin’s flames shifted to a brighter shade of blue as they wrapped more closely around him. His tail lashed behind him. The sound of Kurikara crossing with Lucifer’s sword was oddly muted, a dull, hollow sound rather than the clear ring of steel on steel.

Then Amaimon took the lead. He plowed into Lucifer trying to overwhelm the older demon with brute force. 

Rin took the moment to catch his breath and assess the fight. Although Lucifer fought with a sword and Amaimon was bare-handed Lucifer continued defending himself in a leisurely manner. Rin frowned, given the ease with which Lucifer blocked his and Amaimon’s attacks it should have been simple for him to go on the offensive and slice the unarmed Earth King to ribbons.

“I understand Samael less with every century that passes,” Lucifer remarked as he caught Amaimon’s blow on the flat of his blade. “You’re just another of Father’s attempts at creating tools to maintain his influence over Assiah but Samael acts as if you’re as much his sibling as I.”

Amaimon scowled, “Maybe Big Brother got tired of suck-ups like you.” He shoved Lucifer’s sword up to create an opening but Lucifer calmly took a step back and Amaimon ended up over-extending himself. Rin tensed, ready to throw himself back into the fight to protect Amaimon but, to Rin’s confusion, Lucifer let the moment pass without attempting to capitalize on Amaimon’s vulnerability. 

//As Astaroth connects with his hosts through sadism, Lucifer connects through vanity,// Mephisto’s voice whispered in Rin’s mind. //But the very trait which links them makes Lucifer’s hosts resist the modification he requires to make himself at home in their bodies. The stronger he grows the more precarious his hold on hosts becomes. If he were to unseal his heart or even truly exert himself with it sealed he would tear free of his moorings to Assiah.// Mephisto chuckled, //I am fortunate that my bonding trait is a thirst for novelty and new sensations. My hosts welcome the excuse to throw off society’s mores and even among the Puritans I could always find those who secretly craved pleasure.//

//So we just have to push him harder and Lucifer’ll exorcise himself?// Rin asked.

//Be ready to act on my signal,// Mephisto replied. //I plan to do more than inconvenience the King of Light for a year or two.// 

Egyn shepherded Juuzo toward the door, “I shall see that my lady’s knight is returned to her,” he said to cover his retreat. 

Rin frowned at the Water King. “If you’re not gonna fight regroup with Bon and the others,” he said. “You’d better get all of them them out safe… Or I’ll tell Shiemi you’re a coward.”

“What you may believe matters not as you’ll be dead shortly,” Egyn pointed out, but Amaimon was beginning to falter. Rin threw himself back into the fight without bothering to respond.

* * *

It was early morning when Bon, Konekomaru and Izumo emerged from the Illuminati’s underground base. The Inari Dreamtown Mall was largely silent; empty except for a few residents who wandered around the perimeter of the hole in the floor of the main lobby, glancing into it’s depths with muted curiosity. There was no sign of the human guards the rescue party had defeated the night before or any other Illuminati adherents.

Before the True Cross reinforcements arrived Juuzo stumbled tiredly out of the stairwell carrying Renzo. Bon only recognized his childhood friend by his pink hair. Renzo’s throat was completely raw, as if the top layer of skin had been stripped away, his shoulders were grotesquely swollen and his head rolled limply with every step Juuzo took. Between Renzo’s hair, the white hospital gown he wore and the profusion of red blood spilled on it Bon was sure he’d never look at a valentine again without wanting to vomit. “Alive?” he managed to ask. Juuzo nodded, there was nothing else reassuring about Renzo’s condition.

Egyn backed out of the stairwell after Juuzo, looking both wary and puzzled. “I sensed Samael for a moment. Now all four of them are gone,” he said. “Mayhap Samael moved the battle to Gehenna, although I can’t imagine what he hoped to gain by such a maneuver, except to speed their deaths.”

Uke and Mike appeared a few minutes later and confirmed what Egyn had sensed. 

At about the same time the byakko arrived it sunk in for Bon that Renzo had horns and a tail now. “How’d that happen?” he asked.

“I think it’s the same as what Todo did to himself,” Juuzo said. “Before Lucifer grabbed him, Ren was burning with Yamantaka’s flames.”

They were still waiting for Rin, Amaimon and Mephisto when the True Cross’ reinforcements finally arrived.

* * *

Even together Rin and Amaimon couldn’t force Lucifer to exert himself against them. Rin had the feeling the Hell King was patiently waiting for one of them screw-up badly enough for him to end the fight as he chose. Then suddenly Lucifer’s movements slowed, as if time was lagging, a hole in reality opened behind him. “Get him through now!” Mephisto ordered. “I can’t hold him for long.”

Rin and Amaimon glanced at each other then together they barreled into the King of Light, all three of them tumbled through Mephisto’s porthole into a strange realm. A web of shining white struts stretched past the limits of their vision in all directions, past the web was an infinite blackness. There were a few distant pinwheels and smears of color that did less to dispel the emptiness than to emphasize it.

Mephisto leapt through behind them and let the portal close. He grabbed Rin and Amaimon and yanked them to his side. 

The light around Lucifer intensified until Rin and Amaimon were forced to turn away and shield their eyes. Massive golden wings sprouted from his shoulder-blades. He spread his new-formed wings as wide as he could then snapped them closed, moving at full speed. “Samael, how dare you interfere in my domain! With Father’s specific directive!” Lucifer thundered, looking every inch a vengeful angel. “You’ve frittered away the power you preserved at my expense in the Void, your allies are mere infants and then you bring me here? What a fool you’ve become, brother. My poor weak body was destroyed the moment you forced me into this realm, now there is nothing preventing me from unleashing my full power!”

“Seal your hearts, repress your power as much as you can,” Mephisto murmured. His fingers dug into Rin and Amaimon’s shoulders with bruising force. Then more loudly he said, “Older brother, you are looking positively radiant today. It seems you’ve recovered almost completely from our joint sojourn in the Void. Would you consider letting bygones by bygones? We were close once… Besides if you insist upon sending spies into my territory you can hardly blame me for becoming fond of them.”

“I am going to rip you to shreds!” Lucifer shouted. The power streaming off of him was practically a physical force pushing the other three to kneel before him.

Mephisto wrapped his cape around Rin and Amaimon. Rin blinked in confusion as dark indigo and black feathers obscured his view of the King of Light. He reached up and parted the feathers so he could see.

Behind Lucifer, long pearly white arms were separating themselves from the network of struts and stretching toward the King of Light. “Don’t move, don’t make a sound,” Mephisto whispered. Rin could feel that the older demon was shivering.

The first of the hands latched on to Lucifer, he looked surprised as he tried to shrug it off. More hands clutched at him and began dragging him back toward the struts from which they’d appeared. Lucifer began to fight and then to scream in rage as he was dragged away. The hands pulled him to a strut, and held him tightly as if they meant to bind him to it. Then the hands withdrew and Rin realized that Lucifer was being absorbed into the structure. His body was melting into the network, the color flowing out of him, leaving him the same pearly white as the strut and the arms. His screams became filled with terror as he realized the futility of fighting and finally, finally tapered off to silence as Lucifer vanished within the structure of the realm.

Long after silence had fallen, Mephisto relaxed enough to allow Rin and Amaimon to move away from him. “Where are we?” Rin asked softly. 

“Beyond the looking glass worlds, beyond the painted stars,” Mephisto whispered. He turned Rin and Amaimon away from the blackness before them and in the distance, through a vast field of the struts and the shimmer of a mirage, they saw a tapestry of stars beneath them. 

“The sky’s backwards,” Amaimon said.

Mephisto made a shushing gesture. “You’re looking at it from the other side,” he said. “I imagine it’s the memory of the sky we once lived under preserved and brought with us as we brave the Void.”

Rin glanced warily toward the now quiescent struts. “What were those things? What happened to Lucifer?”

“We are very near the outer skin of Gehenna,” Mephisto said in a hushed voice, tears began to well up in his eyes and fall unheeded. “Gods and demons grow in power until Assiah can no longer withstand their presence. They pull away, and in time they join the walls and sleep. But ‘walls’ is an old term, as Assiah expanded the walls of Gehenna had to become porous to enable the expansion, a dyson net rather than a shell, if you will. This far out the walls are made of the oldest of us: Angels and the Nephilim. This is the final resting place of the first and second generations.”

“Mephisto?” Rin asked worriedly.

Mephisto ignored Rin. He brushed away his tears then closed his eyes for a moment, “I can sense what remains of Uriel nearby. We were friends once, but she surrendered her will to something larger than herself and what remains is not capable of remembering me. She never could understand why I couldn’t, would never again, willingly submit to being ruled by another… I dare not open another portal until they’ve returned to a deeper sleep. My power is much less than Lucifer’s but it could still rouse them.” 

“Aniki, how long?” Amaimon whined. “I don’t like it here.”

“A few hours at least.” Mephisto drew the younger two close and turned their attention to the starry field and the solar system beyond it. 

Quietly, almost as much to distract himself as to distract them, Mephisto began talking, “The sun is Gehenna’s heart. At first Assiah was merely a pocket hollowed out of Gehenna that was made hospitable to humans, but the humans grew more numerous and Assiah had to expand. In turn, Gehenna had to expand to accommodate it. The oldest and most powerful of Gehenna were called back to add the power they’d grown into to their origin, to the Eldest from whom we’d come. The once solid walls stretched themselves became a net. Assiah became a globe built of both living and discarded bodies of the younger generations of Gehennans. Assiahs came and went, the remnants of past and future Assiahs are what your modern scientists refers to as the solar system…”


	24. Limbo

Once the True Cross reinforcements arrived things began to move quickly. The exorcists, under the command of a man in a broad brimmed conical hat, began herding the Dreamtown residents into one corner. The commander himself, along with a half-dozen others had subtly surrounded Egyn; they weren’t quite holding him at weapon point but they weren’t far from it either. The King of Water haughtily turned his nose up at them. Meanwhile a swarm of doctors descended on Izumo, Renzo and Tamano’s body. 

When the doctors tried to examine Tamano’s body the little foxes hissed defensively at them then scurried off taking the body with them. Uke and Mike hovered obviously while Izumo was examined.

Bon grabbed Konekomaru’s shoulder, “You, don’t let Kamiki out of your sight,” he ordered. “She’s your knight-partner, remind them if you have to.”

Konekomaru nodded, his shoulders hunching at Bon’s harsh tone.

Then Bon headed over to where a pair of doctors were trying to pry Renzo out of Juuzo’s arms. “Sir, you need to let us treat him,” the doctor pressed. Grudgingly Juuzo laid Renzo on the stretcher the doctors had brought and stepped back. “Dad’s been on alert since Renzo was kidnapped,” Juuzo murmured quietly as Bon stopped beside him. “Openly since your team was dispatched…”

“So how’d a unit from Taiwan get here before one from Kyoto,” Bon whispered back. “I know, but- I’ll keep an eye on Renzo, you have to lead them back to where you left Rin.” 

Juuzo hesitated. 

“If I knew where to go, I’d go myself,” Bon hissed. 

Juuzo nodded and started toward the unit’s commander. “Upper Second Class Exorcist Shima, out of Kyoto reporting,” he said. 

“Upper First Class, Chen-long Liu,” the pale haired commander replied. “Ranking Exorcist out of Taiwan. Your report?” 

Juuzo nodded. “The province of Inari had fallen under the influence of the Illuminati. We personally encountered Lucifer, during our rescue mission. We entered battle with him on the top floor of this building roughly twenty minutes ago. Exwire Okumura Rin and the Hell King Amaimon covered Egyn and I’s retreat once Gaia’s knight was recovered. We have reason to believe that Sir Pheles intervened and moved the battle to Gehenna preventing Lucifer from coming after us. The predominant form of demon in the area is a regenerating zombie. Exwire Miwa has sealed most of them in the lower levels. Don’t go opening doors carelessly because we might be able to cure them. I’ve witnessed Exwire Okumura exorcise a zombie from it’s host. However his flames do not reverse the damage they’ve suffered. The only humane way to attempt this would be with a fully prepared healer or doctor standing by. Of course first we have to recover Okumura, Sir Pheles and the Earth King.”

Chen-long sniffed. “Why would we want the Earth King back from Gehenna? Pheles has proven his use to the Order and it’s said Okumura has promise, but two fewer Hell Kings in Assiah is… A good start.” As he said it he gave Egyn a scathing look. 

“As if you little humans could do anything to me,” Egyn replied scornfully. “I will be staying here to ensure that the Lady Shiemi’s knight is restored to her.” For a moment a look of relief crossed Juuzo’s face but he quickly hid his reaction. 

“However, there may be something to learn at the site of their battle,” Chen-long allowed. With one last wary look at the Water King he gestured for a handful of his unit toward the stairwell.

A few moments after they’d left one of the doctors working on Renzo started drawing a blood sample.  
“What are you doing?” Bon demanded. 

“His shoulders should have been treated immediately, given the current degree of swelling reduction will be next to impossible and I don’t know how his current physiology will react to muscle relaxants or anti-inflammatories,” the doctor replied frowning. “I don’t want to resort to surgery to get his shoulders back in place.”

“Oh,” Bon deflated.

“It would help if I knew something about the demon he ate,” the doctor pressed.

“His familiar, Yamantaka,” Bon answered.

“That is excellent,” the Doctor replied with a smile that sent a chill of apprehension down Bon’s spine.

* * *

When Juuzo and Chen-long reached the top of the stairs everything was quiet. The double doors at the end of the hall hung half-off their hinges from Rin and Amaimon’s earlier assault. Chen-long gave the doors a snide look.

“We were going for hit and run, not subtlety,” Juuzo replied defensively. He reached out to push one of the doors aside, there was a second when he caught sight of the woman who’d been with Lucifer when they’d attacked before, then Chen-long was shoving him backward. 

The Taiwanese exorcist planted his bright red staff in the center of the open doorway as he shouted a quick chant. A flash of red light spread from the butt of his staff as his barrier spell took shape a breath before the explosion hit. Juuzo started his own chant a phrase behind Chen-long. He held his ring staff horizontally, kneeling to duck under Chen-long’s arm to cross his staff with the upper first class’. As the staves connected a wave of pressure erupted outward forcing the explosion back. “Not bad for an improvisational synergy,” Chen-long allowed.

Juuzo stared past him at what had been Lucifer’s audience chamber and was now a few blasted girders and a lot of open sky. There was no sign of the woman. 

“A dead end,” Chen-long said. Juuzo nodded, if there had been anything to find it was destroyed now.

* * *

After determining that there was nothing they could do to influence the battle against Lucifer, assuming it wasn’t over one way or another already, Chen-long had set to securing the zombies and rounding up any Illuminati who’d failed to evacuate. The medical unit Chen-long brought with him took over one of the local hotels and converted it to a field hospital. Juuzo quietly tried to find out what had happened to the reinforcements they’d expected from Kyoto while taking responsibility for getting Fox Alley and it’s tainted offerings shut down. 

Meanwhile, it turned out to be easier than Konekomaru expected to convince the Taiwanese exorcists to put Renzo and Izumo in adjoining hospital rooms. Although once it was said and done Konekomaru began to suspect they’d been so agreeable because it made it easier to keep all four of them under guard. They’d been put on the top floor of the hotel the True Cross had appropriated and throughout the morning there had never been less than four upper class exorcists loitering in front of Renzo’s room. Konekomaru wasn’t sure if they were there to keep them in or because they thought Renzo was going to go berserk despite looking half-dead.

Midway through the morning Konekomaru endured Izumo’s silent, accusing glare long enough to retrieve a chair from her room. Just as the door was about to close behind him she broke her silent treat of him to ask, “How is Shima?”

Konekomaru stopped. “I don’t know. But the Taiwanese unit must have been standing by, waiting for some signal to sweep in before the Myo’o Dhari unit could arrive. And they knew the Illuminati had forced Renzo to eat a demon’s powers without checking to see if he was possessed first.” 

Izumo bit her bottom lip worriedly.

Konekomaru waited several moments longer but Izumo didn’t ask anything else. He dragged the chair out into the hallway and positioned it between Izumo’s door and the small knot of exorcists, making it clear that there was someone besides Izumo’s familiars looking out for her.

As the day wore on Renzo’s doctor came and went several times. More than once, Konekomaru heard pained whimpers coming from the room while the doctor was there.

* * *

“The anti-inflammatories aren’t taking effect as I’d expected,” the Taiwanese doctor, Hsu David, informed Bon as he laid out a needle and several collection vials on the table beside Renzo’s bed. “I’m going to do a lumbar puncture to try to figure out why.”

“You really have to?” Bon asked, torn between suspicion, a fear of getting in the way of treatment Renzo needed and dread of the procedure itself. Since transporting Renzo to the makeshift hospital the doctor in charge of his treatment had come up with what seemed like an endless list of tests that needed to be performed for one reason or another. The mystical tests, similar to what Bon used to as an Aria help him narrow down a demon’s fatal verse, triggered every paranoid bone in Bon’s body. But the scientific tests were worse; they hurt Renzo. Dr. Hsu always had reason why he couldn’t do much of anything except yet another test that would, eventually, hopefully, clear the path to treating Renzo. But even though Renzo had yet to truly regain consciousness he reacted to Dr. Hsu’s poking and prodding. The small, helpless, hopeless whimpers made Bon want to tear someone apart. Maybe himself.

‘What kind of leader am I anyway? Rin’s missing. Renzo was tortured.’ Bon grimaced, ‘I don’t even if that doctor is helping him or just researching demon-eaters with no concern for Renzo’s well-being at all. I wish Shiemi-chan was here, or Lightning. I need a doctor I can trust.’

‘Trust,’ Bon thought bitterly, staring out the window toward the plaza far below. ‘I thought we were done with secrets. Because of Rin, Ucchusma and Karura threw in with us for real, no more sitting on the fence trying to keep Iblis happy by demanding lies and mistrust from us in exchange for their help. My dad and the High Council are too used to doing everything through subterfuge, but I thought my generation was better. Only… I never knew Renzo had familiar, let alone all this crap with the Illuminati. I’m not even sure I how far I should trust Konekomaru anymore.’ 

Dr. Hsu cleared his throat loudly. “Remember, if I’m not able to reduce the swelling I will have to operate on him.”

Before Bon could reply Egyn straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “I had hoped you could improve the condition of Lady Shiemi’s pet before I returned him, but it seems you’re utterly incompetent,” he declared as he scooped Renzo off the bed.

The moment the Hell King picked him up, Renzo’s eyes sprang open and he shrieked, fitful spurts of black flames erupted from him. Dr. Hsu fled, shouting for back-up. Egyn didn’t quite drop Renzo but he put him back down very quickly and backed away muttering, “Better that it’s not me who damages him further.” 

Frozen, Bon stared into his childhood friend’s new, inhuman, black eyes and only saw animal fear and pain. He shuddered and instinctually pulled back. Renzo started trying to scoot away from them, his every attempt to move causing him even more pain. Bon’s paralysis broke a moment before Renzo would have fallen off the bed. “Easy, Ren we’re trying to help,” he said keeping his voice low as if trying to sooth a frightened animal. He pressed his hands to the small of Renzo’s back to keep him from falling while avoiding his damaged shoulders. The black flames leapt up around Bon and the next thing he knew he was waking up in a corner of the hospital room to scream that cut off abruptly. Dr. Hsu and four other exorcists surrounded Renzo, there was no sign of Egyn. As he lost consciousness again Renzo’s flames were extinguished, there was a translucent, waxy look to his skin that terrified Bon. “What did you do?” he demanded shoving past the exorcists to take Renzo’s pulse. 

“The black flames are soul destroying. You were rendered unconscious after only a moment’s contact” Dr. Hsu said. He pointed to a rune inscribed band clamped around the base of Renzo’s tail. “We suppressed his powers so that he could be treated without incapacitating anyone who comes in contact with him.”

Bon’s eyes fell closed in relief as he felt a weak flutter under his fingertips. “Demon regeneration might be the only thing keeping him alive!” he snapped. “What good is treating him if you kill him in the process?” Carefully he picked Renzo up and with a grunt of effort put him back on the bed. 

Dr. Hsu ignored Bon’s furious glare and stepped up to the bed. Delicately he manipulated Renzo’s left arm. “I believe reduction can be successfully implemented now,” he said. He grasped Renzo’s arm by the elbow and, applying a steady pressure he pulled and rotated the arm. With a loud pop, the bone slipped back into it’s socket. 

Bon thought it seemed convenient that the Hsu could finally do something for Renzo just when Bon ready to pull a gun on the man.

* * *

Shima Yaozo looked grim as he left the train station in Shimane, Kinzo just a step behind him. For four days he’d been ready and waiting to provide support for his sons, but when Juuzo’s call for reinforcements finally came the Grigori informed him that there was another unit closer. It had taken hours of territorial posturing and the Myo’o Dhari High Council throwing their weight around to get the Grigori’s decision overturned and he still didn’t know who had instigated the situation or to what end. But now he was authorized to bring Shimane under the Kyoto Branch’s jurisdiction of the True Cross. 

Chen-long Lui met Yaozo at the station. “What brings you so far from home?” Yaozo asked. His tone made it clear that he considered the younger exorcist to be trespassing.

“I go where I’m sent,” Chen-long replied curtly. “In securing the Illuminati base we discovered fifty-seven regenerating zombies, two chimera zombies and a few dozen Illuminati who had been left behind. The Illuminati are being interrogated as we speak, but none are particularly note-worthy. The regenerating zombies have been secured to determine if Exwire Okumura can exorcise the demons from them. After speaking with Exwires Miwa and Suguro about the nature of Okumura’s powers I concluded that the chimera zombies were beyond saving; Okumura’s powers will not separate them back into individuals and it is highly unlikely that they would be able to sustain life without being possessed by a demon. I had them destroyed. The primary outstanding issues are the contamination of the land and the all but universal addition to the contaminants experienced by the population, but as you have demanded command be transferred to you, those are your problems. However our Doctors will stay to provide aid; there are approximately a million people in the district who, at the very least, will need to be checked for signs of addiction.”

“The support is appreciated,” Yaozo replied. “I’d like to see my son Renzo before I formally assume command, would you know who is treating him?”

“Senior First Class Exorcist Hsu,” Chen-long replied. “I would imagine that he’ll want the fatal verse for Yamantaka if the Myo’o Dhari have it. It would be valuable to know if Demon-eaters can be fought with the same tools as a standard possession.”

Yaozo’s breath caught. “Yamantaka possessed Ren?” he demanded.

Chen-long shrugged. “The Illuminati forced the boy to consume Yamantaka’s powers, your elder son was a witness. It’s quite convenient honestly; the True Cross has wanted to get a closer look at a demon-eater since the Todo incident.”


	25. Drawing Lines

“I would imagine that he’ll want the fatal verse for Yamantaka if the Myo’o Dhari have it.”

Yaozo heard himself asking, “Yamantaka possessed Ren?” but he didn’t hear the Taiwanese exorcist’s answer. Instead he was transported back thirty-five years.

_“Your father’s condition is degrading rapidly. We don’t expect him to last the night.”_

_Yaozo dropped his suitcase just inside the door, “They said it was a basic Jikininki, how could this happen?”_

_“The wound was only minor but it acted as a vector for the Myodha plague.”_

_Yaozo walked up the stairs to his father’s room in a daze. Lesions covered the older man’s right arm and half his face, harsh racking coughs shook his frame but when he saw his son he pulled himself upright. For the next two hours, despite the rapidly advancing illness, he relentlessly grilled Yaozo on everything that would be expected of him as the new head of the Shima family. “Are you ready to assume responsibility for ALL the oaths our family has entered into?” Yaozo’s father asked once he’d finished._

_The question should have been a rhetorical and ceremonial, Yaozo had been preparing for these duties since he was twelve, but his father asked the question seriously and the look in his eyes demanded that Yaozo consider it fully before answering._

_The moment Yaozo paused to think there was one particular oath that leapt to mind. Yaozo had married his fiancee just two weeks earlier, he and Sakura both knew they wanted a horde of children, starting as soon as they could. If Yamantaka invoked that oath it would almost certainly be one of his children to bare the cost. And for a moment Yaozo hesitated, but the oath had only been invoked twice in five hundred years, chances were it wouldn’t even come up in his life-time. “I am prepared.”_

_Twenty years later, Yaozo stood at the door of his home numbly receiving mourners to his eldest son’s wake. He knew Renzo was hiding in the bushes just outside the door. They’d tried to explain what’s happened to the four-year-old but all Renzo could understand was that they won’t let him see Takezo._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Yaozo saw a flicker of black flames wrapped around Renzo’s huddled form. A ball of ice formed in Yaozo’s stomach, because in that moment he knew he was going to lose Renzo to Yamantaka as well as Takezo._

“It’s quite convenient honestly; the True Cross has wanted to get a closer look at a demon-eater since the Todo incident.”

Yaozo’s thoughts were jerked back to the present when Kinzo leapt at the Taiwanese exorcist. Chen-long snapped up his staff to knock the attack aside but Kinzo grabbed the weapon. The loud smack of polished wood meeting flesh made everyone around wince, Kinzo ignored the pain to yank Chen-long off guard and punched the other man squarely in the nose. “Shima Kinzo!” Yaozo shouted and the two broke apart. 

Chen-long pinched the bridge of his nose to stem the bleeding while Kinzo cradled his hand to his chest as a welt formed across his palm. “That’s my little brother you’re talking about,” Kinzo snarled unrepentantly. “Him getting hurt is NOT ‘convenient’.”

“My apologies,” Chen-long replied. “But until we know how to fight these demon-eaters, someone’s family member will be hurt. How many Myodha were killed during Todo’s escape from Kyoto?” 

“Three of our exorcists,” Yaozo said quietly.

* * *

Cautiously Izumo swung her legs over the edge of the bed then grabbed her IV pole and used it to stand up. Leaning heavily on the IV pole she started slowly toward the door. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Izumo-chan?” Uke asked her as he and Mike fell in step with her. 

“I need to,” Izumo said. “I owe it to Shima.” 

She ignored Konekomaru sitting outside her door even when the other Exwire leapt up to open the door for her then followed her inside. Both of them cringed at Renzo’s appearance. The pink-haired boy had been cleaned up since they’d last seen him but both of his arms were immobilized, the bandages around his throat were spotted with blood and his skin had less color than the bone-white horns curving back from his temples. If anything he looked worse than he had when Juuzo carried him out of Lucifer’s audience chamber. 

Bon jumped up and shoved his chair toward Izumo as soon as she hobbled into the room. His eyes looked hollowed; he knew Renzo was getting worse and six hours had passed with no sign of Rin’s return.

Izumo hesitated for a moment then decided that her pride could take accepting the chair. “I hate both of you right now,” she said preemptively her eyes still fixed on Renzo. “You hurt Rin to force me into a corner. You used his oath get what you wanted, used that he’s not human against him.” 

Konekomaru had stopped just inside the door. Uncertain of his welcome he stood on the threshold, staring at the floor and rocking from one foot to the other. He flinched at Izumo’s words. 

She turned to glare at Bon, “If you were really Rin’s friend you’d be helping him figure out how to nullify that damn thing’s power over him instead of leaving him to trust your good intentions. Making it so the bond breaks if you ask him to do something dishonorable was a start but Rin would let you get away with murder; as long as you think you’re in the right it’ll hold.”

“You’re right about the oath,” Bon said. “But you endangered my friend. You created the situation where Rin had to choose between us.” 

Izumo’s gaze strayed back to Renzo. “If not for me you’d have rescued him sooner than you did,” she admitted. Then her posture stiffened. “I’d do it again,” she said flatly. “To make sure that Tsukumo was safe I’d make the same choices. But I bear responsibility for what happened to him and I’ll do what I can to help put it right, even if it means putting up with the two of you.” 

Bon looked back at Renzo as well. “Good,” he said quietly. “Because I’m in over my head.” He turned slightly to include Konekomaru. “I’m not exactly happy with the two of you either but you’re what’s left of my team. I don’t know where Rin is and I can’t think of a damn thing to do to help him. Shiemi-chan’s… I’d give a lot to have a doctor candidate I could trust right now but Shiemi can’t be here. I don’t think the doctors the True Cross sent care one way or another whether Renzo makes it.” 

“They might have an interest in dissecting his corpse,” Konekomaru said, finally looking up from the floor. The other two nodded grimly.

“We’ve gotta look out for him, ‘cause no one else is.” Bon took a deep breath then plunged in before he could change his mind, “Kamiki, your sister’s safe right? You don’t have a conflict of interest any more?” Izumo nodded. “Okay, then. I think I need you to be Renzo’s advocate. I want him back the way he should be, maybe too much. He wasn’t born with demon blood like Rin, this is something that was done to him. But-” he hesitated for a moment, “But I think the people here would cheerfully kill him trying to make him human again. Or just to strip him of the powers he got from Yamantaka. We all agree that their only real interest is figuring out how to fight demon-eaters.”

“He might not be Renzo anymore,” Konekomaru whispered. He glanced up at Izumo, “At least not completely. Back there, when Inari possessed you, that wasn’t you exactly. You bit that guy’s finger off! But it wasn’t entirely not-you either. We don’t have anyone to do what your mother did for you so we can’t totally alienate them; we might need them get Renzo back.”

Izumo flinched at the mention of what she’d done to Gedoin and her mother.

“But he is himself,” Mike interjected. “We don’t know what this ‘demon-eating’ thing is but when Shima Renzo attacked Lucifer he was grieving Yamantaka.”

“What do you mean?” Konekomaru asked.

“Merging isn’t quite the same for us,” Uke replied. “Our hosts are foxes. But we’ve been around a long time, we’ve seen it done plenty of times. Past a certain point in merging you do not mourn, you cannot think of yourself as two separate beings. Others may perceive the merger as a death of one or both of the unique individuals who existed before, but the being themself cannot see either of their old selves as dead as they have both continued in the new being. Shima Renzo mourned Yamantaka as being lost.”

“That’s a relief,” Bon said earning an unfriendly look from Mike and Uke. “We just have to focus on getting Renzo better, we can worry about the demon thing later.” 

“In that case, the first thing we need to do is get that power suppressor off him.” The three exwires jumped at the unexpected voice from the door. They turned to see Juuzo standing there. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. “I got a look at Ren’s medical charts,” he said. “His brachial nerve was practically torn out of the spinal cord on his left side. The damage to his right arm wasn’t quite as bad but still severe. A human just can’t heal those kind of injuries. Renzo, on the other hand, had been getting better all morning, until they put the suppressor on him anyway. After they put that thing on him his motor responses stopped improving and his GCS score dropped from a nine to a four, from the explanation I got you score a three even when you’re dead. ”

“I’m familiar with the suppressor they used,” Bon said. “Professor Shiku taught me the incantation after we found out about Rin being a demon and once I got to know her I spent some time figuring out how to break it. But if Renzo starts freaking out again like he did when Egyn grabbed him no one will be able to treat him. His flames aren’t like Rin’s, I only touched him for a second or two to try keep him from falling off the bed and got knocked cold.”

“Just being a demon is doing more to help Renzo than anything these doctors have done,” Juuzo replied bitterly. “Get the suppressor off him. Then talk to Karura, he’s a more powerful fire demon and should be able to shield us from Yamantaka’s flames if need be. As for Egyn, he might be our trump card against the True Cross, but he’s the King of Water-”

“And Renzo is, in essence, a fire demon now,” Konekomaru realized. “He’s going to react to Egyn as a massive threat.” 

“Okay, I’m ready.” Bon said focusing on Renzo as he took out his rosary. He chanted a lengthy incantation, when he finished the suppressor around Renzo’s tail shattered with a sound like breaking glass. Renzo drew a deep breath and after a few minutes his color started to improve. For a moment everyone exchanged looks of relief. 

Then Konekomaru asked “What do we say when they notice it’s gone?”

Juuzo scowled darkly. “Tell them they can keep their fucking hands off my little brother.”

* * *

Graciously Chen-long offered Yaozo the front seat of the taxi ferrying them in from the train station. Yaozo took half a second to consider the ice-packs that both of the younger exorcists were holding. “It would be easier to talk without either of us craning our necks,” Yaozo declined. He nudged Kinzo toward the front seat and slid into the back beside Chen-long. “Why don’t you continue debriefing me?” he suggested. Because Yaozo wasn’t entirely certain of Chen-long’s disposition but he knew his son was more than ready to resume the earlier fight. Having to go over the back of the car seat might slow Kinzo down a bit.

Chen-long nodded. “The Shinto sect which was believed to be monitoring demon activity in this area was wiped out five years ago when their miko, Kamiki Tamano, lost herself to a vengeful aspect of Inari. The current miko and only surviving member of the sect’s exorcists is Tamano’s daughter, Kamiki Izumo, an exwire with the True Cross. There shouldn’t be any resistance when it comes to bringing the territory under our protection.”

Yaozo remembered the prickly girl from her stay in Kyoto and considered warning Chen-long not to under-estimate Kamiki Izumo. Then he remembered Chen-long’s casual dismissal of Renzo’s suffering and decided that Taiwanese exorcist could figure it out for himself.

Chen-long continued reviewing the situation in Shimane while Yaozo watched the rice field as they passed by. “Do we know how many tsubo of farmland have been contaminated?” Yaozo asked when Chen-long had finished. 

“We haven’t determined the full extent yet,” Chen-long replied. “It’s likely that most of the prefecture is impacted.”

“How far along are you on importing food and has any effort been made to purify the contaminated rice?” Yaozo asked. “It would be devastating for the area if they lose the entire crop.”

“I- Yes. I hadn’t thought about trying to recover the crop,” Chen-long admitted with a small wince. 

The closer they drew to the hotel the True Cross was using as their headquarters and field hospital the harder Yaozo found it to keep up his end of the conversation and eventually the ride deteriorated into a terse silence. “Your son’s room is on top floor,” Chen-long said when they finally arrived. He guided them to the elevator just off the hotel’s lobby. Kinzo bounded past the other two and mashed the elevator button impatiently.

An interminable minute later the elevator doors slid open on chaos. The entire hallway was drenched, water dripped from the ceiling and the carpet squelched underfoot. Dr. Hsu and his exorcists lay in a pile at the far end of the hall, struggling to untangle themselves. Egyn stood in front of Renzo’s door, arms crossed over his chest looking pleased with himself. Juuzo stood beside the Water King, his staff in hand, barring entrance to the room.

“What is going here?” Yaozo demanded.

“Dad!” Juuzo exclaimed with relief. He pointed his staff at Hsu angrily, “That quack wanted to give Renzo an infusion of realgar and cinnabar!” 

“Both are well known for their purifying and protecting properties,” Hsu replied defensively. “They’ve been used to combat evil spirits for more than two thousand years.”

“I think Renzo can do without the side-effects of getting shot-up with arsenic and mercury,” Bon growled as he joined Juuzo in the door.

Hsu turned to Yaozo. “Of course, if I’d had access to Yamantaka’s fatal verse that would have been my first choice. It’s a much safer means of exorcism, but as you know, time is critical. The longer a possession continues the more entrenched the demon becomes.”

Yaozo stepped out of the elevator and slowly walked down the hall, his eyes fixed on the room behind Juuzo and Bon. As he approached they stepped back, allowing him access. Just inside the room, Yaozo froze, transfixed by the sight of the bone-white horns sprouting from just above Renzo’s temples. They were about four centimeters across at the base and curled back to lay almost flat against his skull for the first half of their length before angling slightly away from his head. The horns twisted as they narrowed, terminating in sharp points. ‘Horns,’ Yaozo thought with a touch of hysteria, ‘Renzo has horns, Yamantaka’s horns are growing out of Renzo head.’ 

Kinzo brushed past his father and went to perch on the edge of Renzo’s bed. “Hey brat.” He reached out for Renzo’s hand then stopped at the sight of the bandages covering the rope burns on Renzo’s wrists. Kinzo’s hand waver as he took in the immobilizing braces on Renzo’s arms, the bloody bandages around his throat and the assorted lesser cuts and bruises that covered Renzo’s body. Gingerly Kinzo reached between the horns and patted his younger brother on the head. “Everything’s going to be okay,” He said. “You just let your big brothers look after you, yeah?”

Juuzo noticed the painful-looking welt across Kinzo’s palm. “What happened to you?” 

“Hey I gave as good as I got,” Kinzo protested with a nod toward Chen-long’s swollen nose. “That guy’s an ass.”

“It is a sorry day when honesty is considered ill-manners,” Chen-long replied, tilting his head back to look down his nose at Kinzo. “It is fortunate that we have the chance to study a demon-eater before engaging the Illuminati army in battle. Even if we assume that Lucifer has lost the confrontation with Sir Pheles, Exwire Okumura and the Earth King Amaimon, they may rally behind another leader. Apart from that now that the demon-eater technology exists you may be sure that it will surface in other places.”

“You know, I do appreciate honesty,” Juuzo remarked with a dark look at Hsu. “Doctor, your assistant was thrilled to explain Renzo’s medical chart to me.” he turned to his father. “Renzo was getting steadily better all morning, in spite of them doing jackshit. Then this guy stuck a power suppressor on him and his condition nosedived.”

“He began to regain consciousness and attacked Exwire Suguro with his flames,” Dr. Hsu explained calmly.

“More like Renzo panicked when the Water King grabbed him and I was careless enough to put myself in contact with the black flames while trying to keep him from falling out of bed,” Bon corrected. 

“Most of the tests he’s been running on Ren have nothing to do with fixing his injuries,” Juuzo continued. 

“That is an injury,” Hsu disagreed pointing to Renzo’s horns. “Figuring out how to free him from the demon’s influence is as important as treating his physical wounds.”

Juuzo shook his head. “According to your own assistant Renzo’s wounds should be irreparable and crippling for a human but because he’s got Yamantaka’s powers running through him he’s getting better.”

“The longer we wait the more solid the demon’s possession will become,” Hsu replied unperturbed.

“But it’s not possession,” Izumo interjected. “Yamantaka’s presence isn’t in Shima, my familiars told us so.”

Hsu looked over Izumo and the byakko, completely unimpressed. “Consider the source of your information young lady and be more cautious about accepting it as unvarnished truth.”

“I’d trust them before I trust you,” Bon snapped.

“Juuzo, Ryuji, I know you mean well, but you don’t have the expertise to know what’s best for Renzo,” Yaozo said. “Let Dr. Hsu treat him.”

“Dad!” Juuzo protested. “He’s not doing anything to help Ren. Hell, he was going to poison him!”

“Getting that thing out of your brother is helping him,” Yaozo said sternly. Then he sighed, “Realgar and cinnabar are extreme, but accepted methods of exorcism when no fatal verse is known.” 

“On that note,” Hsu interjected. “The sooner we try Yamantaka’s fatal verse the better. The demon’s hold on him is very strong.”

Yaozo’s mouth thinned. “Clear the room,” he ordered. 

“I should be on hand-” Hsu began.

“Part of our arrangement with Yamantaka was that we would keep his fatal verse concealed,” Yaozo said. “So get out. I’m already breaking one of my family’s oaths to Yamantaka by even trying to take Renzo back.”

“Dad, you can’t do this,” Juuzo said, stunned. “If you get rid of Yamantaka’s powers now, Renzo could end up crippled.”

Yaozo pointed to Renzo, “And if I don’t that could end up as nothing more than a shell for a demon to possess.”

“Shima-san-” Konekomaru began.

“Let him,” Izumo interrupted. “Remember what Mephisto told us about Rin? A fatal verse weakens possession allowing the person or object’s native soul to push the invading demon out. It won’t hurt Shima because his soul is native to his body.” She turned to Yaozo, “Maybe that’s what it will take for you to realize that that is your son lying there.” Imperiously she held out her arm and Konekomaru helped her up. Bon glanced back at Renzo then followed the other two exwires into the hall.

“Dad!” Juuzo tried again. “You weren’t there when Yamantaka found out-”

“Leave,” Yaozo repeated.

Juuzo spun on his heel and stomped out slamming the door behind himself and Kinzo.

Yaozo’s shoulders slumped tiredly as he stood beside Renzo’s bed. “Since you were barely more than a toddler this has been my nightmare,” he told the unconscious teen. “We never really tamed Yamantaka, in all the centuries he’s been bound to our family he’s used us as much as we used him and the deal Takezo made to save you from that demon of rot left you so vulnerable to Yamantaka himself.” 

With a forced smile Yaozo reached out to brush Renzo’s bangs back from his face. “You always act like you don’t take anything seriously, but I know you’re tough as nails Renzo. When I was teaching you to fight it almost scared me, how ruthless you could be. I need that now, I need you to fight with everything you’ve got, Ren. We’re going to get you back.”

* * *

After being ousted from Renzo’s hospital room the exwires, Renzo’s two older brothers and Dr Hsu joined Egyn and the exorcist guards in the hallway. After a several hostile looks traded back and forth they split into two groups holding court at opposite ends of the hall. 

“He was supposed to be on our side,” Bon said with an accusing look back at the door Yaozo had firmly closed.

“Dad didn’t see Yamantaka these last couple of days,” Juuzo said. “I really don’t think he’d ever hurt Renzo, but Dad hasn’t seen that and he’s not hearing me.”

Kinzo gave Juuzo an odd look, “I get holding off exorcising Ren until he heals up, but isn’t that going a little far? This is Yamantaka we’re talking about.”

“What do you mean?” Konekomaru asked.

“This is Shima clan history, not Myodha history,” Juuzo explained. “You know, we were exorcists even before we joined the Myodha. Yamantaka had been bound to our clan for several hundred years before Fukaku sealed the Impure King.”

“In 1550 a small village in the mountains north of Kyoto was wiped-out, the inhabitants’ souls consumed down to the last child, but their bodies didn’t have a mark on them. They were found collapsed in their tracks, their bodies slowly dying of exposure and neglect. Two brothers from the Shima family were sent to investigate. They found Yamantaka, replete from feasting on the souls of the villagers and entered battle with him. But there were whispers of a dark power rising and, besides, the village was known to worship Ekibiogami of the Kingdom of Decay, so when Yamantaka was at a disadvantage the brothers offered him a deal: Swear fealty to them or be destroyed. Yamantaka agreed, but with the stipulations that first, the means of defeating him could never be revealed outside of our clan and, second, whenever his host became unsuitable that a new vessel of our blood would be provided for his use.”

“The deal was struck and the ten years later the son of the elder brother was possessed by Yamantaka, eventually merging completely with the demon. In the early stages of merging, Yamantaka was able to pass for human, but as time went on the body took on more and more of the demon’s characteristics,” Juuzo grimaced, “eventually becoming unsuitable to the demon. To uphold our end of the deal our family has provided Yamantaka with a second hosts in the five centuries since then.” 

“For better than a decade now, Dad’s been terrified that Yamantaka would take Renzo as his third host. Merging with a demon is horrific enough under normal circumstances, but in this case, because of Takezo’s oath, Yamantaka has the ability to drain Ren so completely that his body would essentially become a shell. Under those circumstances merger would obliterate every last trace of Renzo’s soul.” 

“Why would Yamantaka want something so pointless?” Egyn asked sounding disgusted.

Kinzo blinked at him in confusion, “Well, obviously, because Yamantaka wouldn’t risk losing himself merging with Renzo then.” 

“There is no risk, no loss,” Egyn snorted. “Demons don’t merge with people who are incompatible, that we don’t like. Yamantaka wouldn’t pick a vessel who wouldn’t add to him. Those who fear being influenced by their human hosts do not merge, they merely possess.”

“Possession can be revoked with a fatal verse, merger can’t.” Bon said. “Don’t pretend there aren’t advantages.”

“The thought of merging with an empty shell is revolting,” Egyn countered. “Like wearing a gutted corpse as a coat. Yamantaka is not of the Kingdom of Decay, he would not seek it out.”

“It’s easy enough for you to say that,” Konekomaru said. “After all, it’s all but unheard of for a human to become the predominant influence in a merger.” Egyn looked ready to argue, Konekomaru held up a hand to stall him. “I know, demons who practice frequent mergers tend to be much more friendly to Assiah, I’m not saying their human-halves don’t influence them, particularly for the first few decades after a new merger, but the demon’s personality almost always emerges as the stronger influence.” 

“What you say has some truth to it and I don’t know if Yamantaka wanted the boy as a vessel or not, but if he did he would have welcomed the influence,” Egyn declared. “I don’t know what the abominations created by Lucifer’s Illuminati were, but they were not mergers.”

“Demon powers but human souls,” Mike agreed from his place at Izumo’s side.

“The inverse of possession,” Uke added. 

Egyn scowled, mulling over Uke and Mike’s words. “Humans, possessing demons,” he said to himself. “I don’t know that I like that.” 

Several minutes later Yaozo stepped out of Renzo’s room. “Yamantaka’s fatal verse had no effect,” he said.

Before Izumo could say ‘I told you so’ Hsu stepped forward, “While the girl’s explanation is one possibility, you know that it is not only one or even the most likely one.”

Yaozo nodded. “Renzo’s soul could be so exhausted that he couldn’t push Yamantaka out even with the demon’s fatal verse loosening it’s hold on his body. Or they may have already merged to the point where there is effectively only one soul remaining.”

“Beyond that these demon-eaters are a new phenomenon,” Dr. Hsu added. “The traditional means of fighting demons may not be effective against them. That is why it is so important that we study this case.”

“You may not understand what Lady Shiemi’s knight has become,” Egyn gestured to himself and the two byakko, “but we all sense it. You are simply too fearful to listen to us.”

Hsu caught Yaozo’s elbow, turning him slightly away from the group at the other end of the hall. “There still are other means we can attempt to remove the demonic influence.”

After a moment Yaozo nodded. 

“At least get a Myo’o Dhari doctor to look at Renzo,” Bon demanded of Yaozo. “Have someone who gives a damn about him give us a second opinion.”

* * *

Once Hsu and the Myo’o Dhari doctor finished going over the proposed treatment plan Yaozo ushered the exwires, Juuzo and Kinzo into an empty room leaving Egyn in the hallway still staring at Renzo’s door with a dark look on his face.

“I need to start preparations,” Hsu excused himself. He bowed slightly to Yaozo, “And it seems my presence will only add to the tensions.”

“Go ahead,” Yaozo said sounding completely worn down. Then he turned to the others. “Normally this wouldn’t be any of your business; Renzo is comatosed, my child and a minor; I am trying to make the best decisions I can for him and you really have no say in the matter.”

“Except Renzo renounced his family. I thought he was just being an idiot,” Bon said thinking of Rin preventing him from saying something similar to his own father, “But you’re going to let that guy poison him.”

“I am not poisoning Renzo!” Yaozo said harshly. “Yes, it’s dangerous. Yes, it could kill him. But it’s the only way we have left to save him from becoming a demon.

“Are you familiar with the underlying principle of chemotherapy?” the doctor interjected. “In essence this is the same, we’re trying to kill the disease, the demon, faster than we kill the patient. While attempting to drive the demonic influence out of Renzo’s body we’re going to make him very sick, but our intent is to save him.”

“If it’s going to hurt Ren shouldn’t we wait until he’s stronger? Give him a chance to recover from everything else that’s happened?” Kinzo asked.

The doctor shook his head. “You’re an exorcist yourself, Kinzo. You know there’s only a limited window of opportunity. The longer we wait the more likely it will be that his transformation will be irreversible.”

Izumo turned to Yaozo with a sneer, “So basically given a choice between having your son turn into a demon or die, you’d rather he died.” Izumo slid off her chair to kneel between Uke and Mike. “Remember what Suguro asked of me?” she whispered to her familiars.

Yaozo met Izumo’s accusing glare tiredly. “I don’t know that when he wakes up he’ll even be my son anymore but I will do whatever I can to make sure that he is, even at the risk of Renzo not waking up at all. The deal Yamantaka gave us was a classical demon’s deal: securing your future with the sacrifice of a child not yet conceived. When I became the clan head I told myself there was a good chance it wouldn’t even happen within my life-time. But like most who make that deal I found it’s only when it’s too late, when it’s no longer a possibility but a child laying in your arms that you realize truly realize what you’ve sacrificed. I will not lose Renzo’s soul to Yamantaka without a fight. In case you’ve all forgotten we are exorcists.”

“Maybe that’s how you see yourself, but first and foremost I’m a miko,” Izumo said. “I’m an intercessor between Gehenna and Assiah, if it goes to a fight I’ve already failed in my primary role.”

“Shima-san, two years ago I wouldn’t have doubted that your course was the right one,” Konekomaru added quietly. “I would have said that it was better to risk Renzo’s life than to risk him becoming a demon. But I didn’t know Rin two years ago. Rin was born a half-demon, the son of Satan himself, last winter he effectively became a full demon when his human half died, and none of that stops him from being a good person. Renzo might be different because of what’s been done to him, but he won’t be dead.”

“He won’t be Renzo either, it will be Yamantaka in Renzo’s body,” Yaozo insisted.

“It will be Renzo, but he will be a demon,” Izumo snapped. “How many times do Mike and Uke have to tell you that?”

“I don’t believe them!” Yaozo exclaimed.

“You were there when Rin swore to fealty,” Bon said. “You saw the same thing I did: Our familiars and demons like Ucchusma are as much Myo’o Dhari as you and I, it’s long overdue for us to start acting like that.”

“How can we when their help comes at such a cost?” Yaozo demanded.

“Well maybe it’d help if we would stop making promises we don’t want to keep,” Bon snapped. “You wouldn’t have to be afraid for Renzo if you hadn’t promised Yamantaka someone’s body as a host in the first place. Those ‘classic deals with a demon’ you mentioned, yeah the cost sucks but we agreed to them and all our stories make us out to be the victor, the hero when we get what we want from the demon without paying the cost we agreed on. Negotiation should be about coming to an agreement not about trying to set-up loopholes to cheat the other guy. We’re as responsible as the demons for making Demon Oaths into nothing more than an effort to swindle each other; someone’s gotta step up and start dealing honorably.” 

“Dad,” Juuzo interjected. “Don’t just dismiss what Bon’s saying out of hand. From everything I’ve put together, Ren dealt with Yamantaka as a friend not as a tamer and, if Izumo’s familiars can be believed, Yamantaka died to keep Renzo safe from Lucifer. After spending a couple of days with Yamantaka I honestly don’t believe he’d do anything to hurt Renzo.” Then he grimaced, “that said, I’m not sure a demon would count merging with a human as ‘doing harm’.” 

Before Yaozo could respond they were interrupted by sounds of a scuffle from the hall.

Outside the door Egyn bellowed, “You dare accuse me of subterfuge!” The whole group rushed out to find the Water King and Dr. Hsu, backed by a team of exorcists including Chen-long, confronting each other. “If I’d taken the boy I would have simply walked out the door with him.” 

“What is going on here?” Yaozo demanded. 

“The demon-eater, I mean your kid just went missing,” Chen-long replied sardonically. “We’re apparently both accusing the other of being the kidnapper.”

Hsu glared at the Exwires filing out of the room behind Yaozo, “Or it could be them, you suspected they’d try something like this!”

“Right, we kidnapped him while we were all sitting in a room with Shima-san,” Izumo replied sarcastically. 

“Shouldn’t we be trying to find him instead of casting blame?” Konekomaru asked. “He is hurt and possibly confused. Renzo might have woken up on his own and tried to get away.”

Bon glared at Hsu, “Who’d blame him with all your damn tests? He probably thinks he’s still being tortured.”


	26. Reunions

Izumo tried to lean on Bon’s arm as little as possible as she led him and Konekomaru to the little house tucked behind the temple which had been her home.

“Your familiars brought Renzo here?” Bon asked.

“You put me in charge of making sure that Shima’s life took priority over keeping him human,” Izumo replied defensively.

“What is this place?” Konekomaru asked. “It looks abandoned.”

“Home,” Izumo said shortly. “Apparently no one wanted to come near the place after my mother ate her lover and slaughtered over a dozen of his retainers.” Izumo immediately felt guilty for saying it after Tamano had died saving her from the same insanity. 

There was an awkward moment of silence.

“There used to be a key under that stone,” Izumo said, pointing. Konekomaru dug around the rock to loosen the grass that had grown over it and found the key. He let them in. A few foxes were busily sweeping up five years worth of dust in the kitchen. They all stopped and stared as the three exwires came in and shut the door behind them. 

“Guys?” Izumo prompted.

“Big Sis, we’ve been looking after Tamano-chan real good, waiting for you,” one of the fox spirits said looking nervous and evasive.

Izumo gulped at the reminder that she needed to begin her mother’s funeral. The fox-spirits, as close as family to them, could help but as both Tamano’s daughter and her successor as Inari’s miko there were somethings that she had to take care of. “How is Shima?” she asked rather than addressing the issue of her mother’s funeral.

The foxes glanced at each other, after a few moments of whispering among themselves one of them was shoved forward to deliver the news. “Er, pink-hair?” the little fox stalled.

“Yes,” Izumo said, frowning severely.

“Um, he was already gone when Miketsu and Uke Mochi told us to get him,” the little fox admitted reluctantly.

“What!” Izumo exclaimed.

“We’re looking for him!” the fox exclaimed quickly. “But we haven’t found him yet. It’s hard to sense anything except the corruption of the land!”

“So who really has him?” Konekomaru worried. “Shima-san was co-operating with that doctor. It doesn’t make sense for the True Cross to have taken him.”

* * *

Without fanfare a portal opened in the middle of Lucifer’s blasted out audience chamber. Rin and Amaimon stepped out into the windy ruin. The two exorcists standing guard at the far end of the hall, where the top floor of the building was more intact, tensed warily. Mephisto followed his younger brothers through the portal and let it collapse behind him. “Sir Pheles,” one of the exorcists called. Mephisto turned and stuck one of his keys into the nearest door without acknowledging the man. Rin caught a brief glimpse of the True Cross Academy’s roofs, then Mephisto was gone. 

“The Earth King!” the second guards exclaimed. He pointed a gun at Amaimon while the other pulled out a rosary and started muttering under his breath. The dragoon took in Rin’s jacket and beckoned him over. “Exwire, report!” he ordered.

“He’s helping,” Rin said stepping between Amaimon and the dragoon. “Don’t point guns at him. He’s helping.” Behind Rin, Amaimon amused himself by baring his fangs at the exorcists.

“Get away from him! Report!” the dragoon repeated. “Lucifer’s status? Now!”

“Lucifer’s not coming back,” Rin said with a small shiver as he remembered the King of Light’s fate. “Is everyone okay? Bon? Izumo? Renzo?”

“What happened? Why did Sir Pheles leave like that?” 

“My guess? You’re too boring to talk to,” Amaimon offered. He turned to Rin, “Can’t you sense Bastard-ni? Come on, if he isn’t looking after Pink and your fox-girl we should skin him.” He drew back his lips in a toothy smile, “I bet we could manage it together twirp.”

Rin wavered, looking between Amaimon and the two exorcists. Amaimon snorted and grabbed Rin by the collar. Hauling Rin along by the scruff of the neck like a kitten, the Earth King leapt through one of the gaping holes in a wall of the once grand room. As they fell he dug the claws of his free hand into the side of the building scoring long furrows down the face of the Inari Dreamtower to control their descent. As they hit the third floor, Amaimon released Rin and kicked away from the building. The pair landed neatly in the courtyard below. 

“What do you mean ‘sense’ Egyn?” Rin asked.

Amaimon scrunched up his nose. “He’s like a screeching banshee, how can you miss him?” he demanded. Rin just looked blank. “Oh just come on,” Amaimon said as a number of exorcists began converging on them.

“It’s okay! He’s friendly!” Rin shouted as he dashed off after Amaimon.

Amaimon led them directly to Egyn. The Water King was stomping around the exorcist’s field hospital, scowling. Amaimon stalked up to his half-brother and tilted his head back to stare challengingly at the taller demon. “All the centuries you’ve been going on about how much you hate Dad, but when it comes to throwing down, you chickened out. And that was just against Dad’s favorite son. So where’s Pink? Taking care of him was your excuse wasn’t it?”

“Humans possessing demons, it’s just not right.” Egyn informed them. “The humans don’t hear but Yamantaka of the black flames is dead, stripped of his power until there was nothing left of him. I have heard the phoenix survived being eaten, but it’s a phoenix’s nature to be consumed and regenerate. Perhaps it is best that the humans don’t hear; being exorcised is aggravating and can wreck decades, even centuries of work, but until now it was only other demons who could kill you.”

“Where are they? Where my friends?” Rin demanded. 

“I’m not sure who has the Lady Shiemi’s knight. Right now the True Cross only desires to make certain that they can kill Demon-eaters, that may be safest in the long run even if it would displease Lady Shiemi. If we return him to her, she would make no study of Demon-eaters but it would leave open the possibility that others may recognize him for what he is and wish to discover the process for themselves.” 

Rin wonder how much of Egyn’s rambling was simply talking to himself out loud but he wasn’t about to interrupt. If Egyn decided he wanted Renzo dead it would be good to know upfront. 

“Although, truly, the knight is not the highest priority. The two of you are alive, so I shall conclude that Lucifer has been dealt with but his army remains and already possesses the ability to create Demon-Eaters. Dealing with them should take precedence over the knight and would not upset Lady Shiemi.” Egyn refocused on Rin and shrugged, “If your friends took him he’ll be back in Delphi soon enough. If the True Cross has him he’ll be dead within the week, although that may be generous. I am trying to decide if I care while everyone else is searching for him; either because they don’t have him or because they wish to look like they don’t have him.”

“You’re completely useless,” Amaimon remarked cracking his knuckles. 

“No time,” Rin said as he grabbed Amaimon and yanked him onward. “I can find Bon.” And with that Rin stopped thinking about where he was going and just let his feet carry him onward. A few short minutes later the two of them were standing outside of a small house behind the temple grounds. Rin shrugged and knocked on the door. 

Bon opened the door warily. As soon as he saw Rin he grabbed the smaller boy and gave him a hard shake, “What took you so long? Everyone’s been worried sick!”

Rin grinned shakily, “Angels are terrifying,” he said. Amaimon shivered at the reminder and nodded in agreement. 

Bon’s mouth dropped open at that, before he could recover Izumo and Konekomaru were pushing him out of the doorway. “You’re okay,” Izumo said, her shoulders sagging in relief once she’d looked Rin over. Then she took a determined step forward, grabbed Rin’s shirt-front and dragged him down into a kiss. Amaimon hopped closer and peered at the two of them curiously. Bon and Konekomaru couldn’t help the amused grins that appeared when Izumo released a rather dazed looking Rin a few moments later. 

“Um, um. Wow.” Rin stammered. He smiled brightly, then with his arm wrapped around Izumo’s shoulders. His expression turned serious. “You guys are okay.” He nodded back toward Amaimon, “We took care of Lucifer, or really Mephisto did. So um, we talked to Egyn. Did you guys rescue Renzo or did the Grigori kidnap him after we rescued him from the Illuminati?”

“We need to find him before the True Cross squirrels him away somewhere,” Juuzo said as he and Kinzo stood up from the kitchen table. “Good to have you back. We’re trying to figure out where they might have hidden him.”

“Another hour and Shiemi can get him,” Amaimon said. “If he’s touching the ground she’ll sense him. She might not be able to tell us exactly where to find him, but redwoods are hard to hide. I’ll ask her to grow one where ever he’s being kept.”

“Good thought,” Juuzo said, acknowledging Amaimon with a nod. “The True Cross needs to keep up a pretense of trying to help Ren. Unless I miss my guess they’ve probably got several layers of orders that are understood rather than explicit about collecting data from him. They’ll have to keep the promise Angel’s given about their non-involvement, so the Grigori will disavow anything this bunch is doing as soon as we can produce proof. But Hsu has quite a bit of leeway on what he can do, as long as Grigori doesn’t ‘know’ what’s going on.”

“How do you define ‘touching ground’?” Konekomaru asked Amaimon. 

Amaimon thumped his foot against the ground. “Touching ground,” he said. “That’s why I let Pink carry Shiemi all over South America, we had to break her connection to Mother.”

“That’s why they strung him up,” Izumo realized. 

“Would the upper stories of a building keep Shiemi from finding him?” Konekomaru asked grimly.

Amaimon nodded. 

“We’d better start looking,” Bon said. He nodded toward the notes scattered across the table. “Assume anything on a ground floor is eliminated and start checking everywhere else we thought of.”

* * *

Renzo woke to what felt like ice being poured into his veins. He whimpered and tried to curl up for warmth but found he was so heavily restrained that he could barely lift his head. The deep cold continued spreading through his body quenching even the memory of warmth.

“The subject’s demonic power continues to wane in response to the treatments. However, the physical manifestations of the demon remain unaffected. This is consistent with earlier findings,” a detached voice dictated in the background, Renzo couldn’t focus on it.

Uncaring hands prodding at Renzo’s side. The cold didn’t numb him, it only made him feel frail and breakable. “Exposure testing shows results consistent with known data for the Kin of Iblis. Overall, the subject’s responses show no indication that he was completely human less than forty-eight hours ago. The transformation to a demon is apparently seamless and irreversible.”

* * *

Mephisto stood on the highest parapet of the True Cross Academy staring up at the stars. “Only you could force me to empathize with our youngest brother, Ni-san,” he said. “Although I’ve not the capability for self-delusion to claim that I’ve ever had your best interest in mind. Well, brothers or not, our relationship was never like theirs. I never thought of the world as frightening or dangerous until I was in much too deep to spend time worrying about how you might be suffering. Once we were back together, whatever relationship we had, there wasn’t much left. All we could do was fight; about how to respond to a world that wasn’t as safe as we’d grown up believing; about who had it worse: The one Father abandoned or the one he rescued. I never could make you understand what ‘safe’ truly looks like, but now you’ll see for yourself.” 

“I’ll imply to the Order that removing you from the game was for the greater good. It’s what they already think; your reputation precedes you, brother... But if I say that’s my cause,” Mephisto smiled a bit wanly. “Well, it will be most amusing for me to watch them scurry around trying desperately to figure out my true motives. The truth is, between you and Father it was worth it to use my trump card to eliminate you, dearest brother.” 

Mephisto stood for a moment, listening to the wind. “I know,” he said. “I know you only ever wanted to feel secure again, to create a world where you wouldn’t have to fear being hurt… Oh Lucifer, if you had your way the world would be so terribly boring!” Mephisto exclaimed. “I know you brother. You would have populated Assiah and Gehenna exclusively with your fawning toadies and let the rest perish. Familial affection may kept you from killing me despite my perfidy but I simply cannot imagine anything less entertaining than to spend an eternity listening to your sycophants quarrel with each other to win favor with you.” 

“And in the end you still wouldn’t have been safe, brother. That is what you have always refused to believe. You should have listened to me, your plan was flawed at it’s very core. They chained us both with bonds of love but I walked away drenched in their blood. Father didn’t rescue me, I broke my own chains. I know love inside and out. I know how strongly love motivates. I know love has no moral bias. I know love can be twisted into murder because I’ve done it. Your plan was doomed from it’s inception.” 

Mephisto sat down on the edge of the roof and let his feet swing over the void. “And so I consigned you to the fate that I have fought for untold eons to evade. Not dead, never dead. You are and always will be, my brother, my twin. But I’ve removed you from the game board until the end of days, you’ll have no more say in shaping the reality that is to come. You’ll sleep and dream and hopefully wake up in a wondrous new paradigm and finally see that I am right.”

“And now you even have me sounding like littlest Yukio,” Mephisto sighed. “Perhaps that is mother’s true curse, that her children always destroy one another, but you chose the wrong side. I’ve gambled too much on this and I will win, even against Father, even against the Eldest. Still… You force me to stand in his shoes.”

A look of pain crossed Mephisto’s face. “I promised Shiro I’d look after them both, but siblings have a way of ticking you off. I may have worded things to Yukio a bit strongly. Everything in balance…” He laughed. “Your last revenge I suppose. Causing me to be caught in a web of my own making. You always loathed my habit, my love, of complexity.”

* * *

Dr. Hsu stopped the elevator up one floor short of the top. He glanced up and down the hallway then unlocked the door to the room directly beneath the one Renzo had disappeared from. The light from the hallway spilled into the darkened room, illuminating a head of pink hair. Hsu started into the room then he felt a knife blade pressed against the small of his back.

“The kids were too genuinely worried, the Water King wouldn’t have bothered sticking around afterwards and Renzo’s arms were immobilized, he couldn’t have opened the door on his own,” Yaozo said as he took the key from Hsu’s hand. “So that left you. Why would you take Renzo? I was going to let you go ahead with the treatment.”

“You would have only allowed me to treat him,” Hsu said. “The only Demon-eater we have access to and all I’d have been allowed to do was create a single treatment plan. What a ridiculous waste of resources. It was hard enough working around his exwire friends to gather data, with your doctor half the experiments I needed to do would have been shut down before they were even started.”

Yaozo shoved Hsu toward the corner of the room and set out a quick text to summon the Myo’o Dhari doctor. Then he flipped on the light switch. Heavy leather bands held Renzo flat on his back. He was shirtless, his chest a patchwork of blisters and discolored flesh where Hsu had been testing his reactions to various substances. An IV full of a dark red liquid was dripping slowly into Renzo’s arm and he was shivering violently. At the sudden influx of light Renzo whimpered and tried to twist away, his eyes met Yaozo’s across the room. In the black, inhuman depths of Renzo’s new eyes Yaozo recognized the child he’d raised. “Son,” the older exorcist sighed with relief. 

“So cold,” Renzo breathed miserably.

With a warning glare at Hsu to stay put, Yaozo hurried across the room and started loosening Renzo’s restraints. “You’re doing great, Ren. You’re fighting back,” Yaozo told him. He smiled reassuringly and forced himself not to flinch at the chilled, corpse-like feel of Renzo’s flesh. As soon as the restraints were gone, Renzo clumsily curled in on himself. Yaozo sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Renzo close, he tilted Renzo’s face up and felt another wave of relief as their eyes met. Renzo’s eyes were full of grief, pain and fear, and Yaozo had no doubt at all that it was Renzo and not a demon that inhabited the body. “I know it hurts, but you’re going to be okay,” Yaozo promised grabbing a blanket off the bed and rubbing his hands up and down Renzo’s back trying to work some warmth into his skin. “I won’t lose you to Yamantaka like I lost Take.” 

Renzo tried to pulled his knees up to his chest but couldn’t manage it. He slumped against Yaozo, unable to support himself. His teeth chattered and his body jerked spastically. 

“You’re you, you’re still you, it’s going to be okay,” Yaozo repeated as he gathered Renzo closer. 

Renzo’s shaking deepened into convulsions. By the time the Myo’o Dhari doctor arrived he was gasping, his breath coming in short, cut-off pants. The doctor quickly clamped off the IV and removed it from Renzo’s arm, but the symptoms didn’t abate. Yaozo watched helplessly as Renzo’s lips turned blue. “What’s happening to him?” he asked as the exwires and Amaimon piled into the room. 

“It’s doing exactly what it was intended to do,” Hsu said from the corner he’d been banished to. “Killing the demon. Can’t you see? There’s nothing human left.” 

“Get him to the ground,” Amaimon snarled. Suiting action to words, the Earth King kicked out the window and leapt out, leaving an impact crater when he landed in the courtyard five stories below. “Shiemi! We found him!” Around Amaimon vines sprung up, reaching upward searchingly. 

Rin didn’t hesitate, he picked up Renzo and followed Amaimon out the window. Shiemi’s vines wrapped around the two of them as they fell, drawing them into a cocoon. The vines twined tightly around Renzo feeding him her strength, filling the air with a floral scent the eased his breathing. Suckers attached to his skin, forming loops that drew his blood through the plants’ filtering membranes to remove the toxins Hsu and Gedoin had poured into him before returning it to Renzo. Amaimon called the earth to rise up around the cocoon of greenery to form a hard, protective shell around it, putting his powers at Shiemi’s disposal. Within the cocoon, Rin wrapped the pink-haired boy in his flames, commanding them to burn anything that wasn’t Renzo. Deep in Renzo’s core, something sparked in response, the flames closest to his skin darkened to black. Gradually he stopped shaking and fell into a healing sleep.


	27. Awakening

Yaozo glanced away from the Middle Second Class Exorcist reporting on the extent of contamination to the year’s rice crop out across the courtyard to the ball of earth and vines that had swallowed Renzo up the night before. Yaozo remembered racing down the stairs, bursting out the door as the vines sank into the impact crater Amaimon had created carrying Renzo and Rin with them. At Yaozo’s last glimpse of Renzo he had been lying limply in the other boy’s arms, both of them surrounded by blue flames as more and more vines erupted from the earth to swaddle them until they were lost from view. 

“From what I can see, the plants making up the cocoon are largely ones that I would have recommended for treating a poisoned mixed-blood with breathing issues,” the Myo’o Dhari doctor had told Yaozo a few hours later. “Although this the the first time I’ve seen medicinal herbs apply themselves.” Yaozo tried to be reassured by that and by Bon’s faith in his sworn knight. He reminded himself of the blue flames sweeping over Mount Atago, cleansing them of the Impure King’s taint. He tried to be reassured that, whatever had happened to Renzo’s form, he could still see the child he’d raised in the boy’s dark eyes. But Yaozo couldn’t stop seeing Ren’s lips turning blue, pain and panic in his eyes as he fought against a body that refused to breath for him.

It had been ten hours since he last laid eyes on Renzo. Logic told Yaozo that Shiemi and Rin were Renzo’s friends, that they were trying to save him and the fact that the cocoon remained closed meant that they were still working toward that end, that Renzo was alive inside the ball of greenery. Reason told Yaozo that Rin’s oath to Bon would drive him out into the world if Renzo were past saving. Logic and reason pale beside the thought of seeing his little boy; until he’d verify it with his own eyes Yaozo couldn’t make his heart believe he’d ever see Renzo alive again. 

The last image Yaozo carried with him of his eldest son was of Takezo laughing as he swung Renzo up on his shoulders before offering Ryuji his hand and heading out to the park with the two four-year-olds. Now Yaozo feared that he’d spend the rest of his life remembering Renzo, his body broken, mutilated, convulsing, choking and terrified.

Renzo’s friends, his brothers and the two Hell Kings were keeping vigil in the courtyard around the cocoon. The Earth King sat with his back against the cocoon, ankles casually crossed. Juuzo stood,stiff with anger, not far from the demon king. Bon, Konekomaru and Kinzo formed a little knot not far from Juuzo but they maintained a bit more distance from Amaimon than the older boy did. Izumo and her foxes formed a second knot, nearer to Amaimon than the boys but further from Juuzo. Egyn stood at the edge of the courtyard, leaning against the wall that separated the hotel grounds from the road that ran past it.

“You’re distracted, Shima-san,” Chen-long remarked sauntering into the office. “Why don’t you go down and sit beside your son with the others?”

“And leave you in charge?” Yaozo replied. “Just because the Myo’o Dhari never contested this territory’s control with the descents of Miura no Suke and Tamamo no Mae, don’t assume that we’ll allow a group of foreigners to waltz in and take over, even if you are of the True Cross.” To himself, Yaozo muttered, “And it’s not as if I deserve to be down there with them.”

Chen-long stared for a moment, “You’re giving weight to the opinions of temperamental children? I don’t agree with Dr. Hsu’s actions; the Paladin has promised that the True Cross would restore your son to the Cult of Gaia. If, before we return him, we do all we can to restore him to his original condition...” Chen-long grinned slyly, “while learning how to depower Demon-Eaters in the process, it is honorable. Even if our attempts to restore him had ended in his death our intentions would have been pure. To kidnap him ourselves for use as a guinea pig? There is no justification for that given our Paladin’s promises.”

“I was wrong,” Yaozo replied. “Appearance aside, that was my Renzo, but I won’t castigate myself for not trusting Yamantaka’s intentions. If Yamantaka were trustworthy Takezo wouldn’t be dead. I have never believed, not for one second, that a demon of Yamantaka’s stature required a human sacrifice to deal with a unranked Kin of Astaroth. Takezo panicked when Ren was taken, he offered everything to see Ren safe and, opportunistically, Yamantaka took his life.” Yaozo remembered Juuzo’s frantic call from several months earlier: _‘Ren thinks we don’t care about him!’_ “But for fifteen years I believed we were pushing Renzo to excel when we were only pushing him away,” Yaozo continued. “None of this, this entire situation, would not have evolved if I’d had any understanding of what was going on inside his head.”

Chen-long shrugged, “Suit yourself,” he said.

* * *

Tightly cocooned in green and blue, Renzo blurrily opened his eyes. Eventually his gaze focused on his hands, his fingers terminated in claws and where Rin’s flames touched his skin they turned black. Black flames, Yamantaka’s flames, not Rin’s, but the place in Renzo’s mind where Yamantaka’s voice resided was silent and empty.

_“Why do our familiars help us kill other demons?” Renzo asked Yamantaka, sounding puzzled. The twelve-year-old leaned comfortably against the towering demon’s leg._

_“Exorcise, not kill… mostly,” Yamantaka corrected. “Exorcism cuts a demon’s bonds to Assiah and forces them back to Gehenna. Becoming a familiar, taking a host or making an oath to a human are all means of forming bonds.”_

_“I don’t get it,” Renzo replied frankly._

_“If we had no bonds exorcism would be superfluous,” Yamantaka explained. “Aiding humans to fight demons gives us a purpose in Assiah, if we lack purpose we cannot remain.”_

_“That’s fucked up,” Renzo decided._

_“Language,” scolded Yamantaka._

_Renzo stuck out his tongue._

_“Humans fight one another and yet you express no surprise at this fact. Your world is divided into states, kingdoms, countries which, throughout mankind’s history, have gone to war against one another. Gehenna is also divided between warring kingdoms. Sometimes we fight our wars on Assiah through the auspices of our summoners. Sometimes… It does not surprise you that guns, tanks and aeroplanes are used by human militaries around the world; there are whispers that demons were created to serve humans.” Yamantaka shrugged. “Many deny it but I find it fits. Perhaps we are your ancient weapons which broke free. Assiah is the center of all that is. Even those demons who loathe humans still allow your kind to command them, they might twist those commands to the detriment of one who gives it...”_

_“The Monkey’s Paw,” Renzo chimed. “Required reading.”_

_“Exactly.”_

_“So what about you?” Renzo smiled and leaned his head back against Yamantaka in order to stare up at the demon. “If I tried to order you around like Big Sis does her salamander would you turn my orders back on me?” he asked in a friendly, teasing tone._

_“You are my purpose, my bond to Assiah.” Yamantaka replied. He stretched out one of his massive clawed hands, flexing his fingers lightly. “This host is almost consumed. If Takezo had been compatible I might have collected on his oath by making him my new vessel, but my flames burn cold. There was too much warmth in him for us to be one.”_

_“So you think Take was pretty great too,” Renzo sighed._

_“I did not mind serving him,” Yamantaka said. “Still our natures were too opposed for him to host me. But that may be been for the best; I always leave when I take a new host. There is too much tension here while those who knew my host before we merged still live, while the host’s physical traits still overshadow my own. Besides I like to live in the world of Assiah while I look human enough to pass as one of you, however I would not have wanted to leave the Shima clan at this time.”_

_“You could have taken me with you,” Renzo said._

_Yamantaka smiled, touched that the boy instinctively grasped what held him in Kyoto. “Your family never would have allowed that.”_

_Renzo rolled his eyes. “It’s not like they’d miss me. Kinzo’d do just as good as Bon’s bodyguard and the dummy would actually buy into the whole ‘it’s an honor’ load of crap.”_

_“What is, is,” Yamantaka said. “I do not believe they would allow you to be taken from them, but it is pointless to speculate. Takezo was not compatible, I cannot live in Assiah at this time and nothing can separate you from me. At this moment you are the living embodiment of my agreement with the Shima. I will not accept another summoner or host while you live. You are and will remain, the core of my bond to Assiah.”_

_A comfortable silence held sway for several minutes while Renzo watched the clouds pass by. “Why don’t you demand hosts more often?” he asked curiously. “My family’s obligated to give you as many as you ask for, right?”_

_“Most Shima lean toward being hot-blooded,” Yamantaka hedged._

_“B.S.” Renzo said. “In five hundred years only two of my ancestors suited you? Yeah right. Juu, Kin and Yumi blow up at every little thing, but Gou, Tsu and I don’t and that’s just me and my brothers and sisters. If you wanted I bet you could take a new host every couple of decades. You’d always look human and then you could go out and do whatever you wanted instead of hanging around at my family’s beck and call as a familiar.”_

_“If I did so, if I gave your family nothing in return and consumed their lives greedily they’d find a way to be rid of me,” Yamantaka pointed out. “That is what Exorcists do, by and large. They eliminate the loud and the glutinous among my kind as those are the ones who draw the most attention. That was what I learned five-hundred years ago. I have also learned that humans are not the helpless cattle I once thought them to be. In the years that I have lived in Assiah I have come to see that the ones who behave as you suggest are nothing but parasites. I take what I need and give service in return.”_

_“Only Iblis will kill you, for real kill you, if you’re too good of a servant and my family will exile you back to Gehenna if you’re not good enough,” Renzo said. “It isn’t fair.”_

_“Who ever told you life is fair little one?” Yamantaka asked wryly._

Renzo flexed his hand, watching the black flames dance over his claws. //Yamantaka?// he called. 

There was no answer.

Tears welled up in Renzo’s eyes and slowly trickled down his cheeks until he’d exhausted his small horde of strength and fallen unconscious once more.

* * *

The next night, once Shiemi was able to reach them through the Earth again, Amaimon used his powers to deepen the sinkhole beneath Shiemi’s cocoon. As the ball of vines sank into the ground it expanded to fill the hole, becoming walls, floor and a ceiling. Another manipulation of the earth created a stairwell and the rough form of a bed and several benches. Moss grew soft and thick over the proto-furniture.

In the center of the rapidly forming room Rin stood with Renzo cradled in his arms. Blue flames still enveloped both of them. Rin carried Renzo over to the bed and carefully deposited him on the mossy surface. “He ought to have a blanket,” he said. As Rin started to withdraw the flames around Renzo weakened. Rin put his hand on Renzo’s shoulder and they were restored, he glanced at the door then back at Renzo. “What keeps you warmer? Blankets or fire,” he wondered out loud.

A hand brushed aside the vines covering the door and Juuzo let himself in, the others trailed after him. “How’s he doing?” Juuzo asked. He and Kinzo started toward the bed then pulled up short at the sight of the flames surrounding Renzo. 

“He could use a blanket,” Rin suggested. 

“I’ll get one, and some clothes,” Konekomaru volunteered quickly. He turned and rushed out.

“I burned the poison out of him,” Rin continued. “Well really I burned everything that wasn’t Renzo.”

Bon’s eyes strayed to the horns crowning Renzo’s head, his mouth narrowed into a grim line but he nodded, accepting the implications of Rin’s statement. 

“You should have let Shiemi take care of it,” Amaimon criticized. “She says his body’s out of balance and he’s shocky. You went too fast.”

Rin flinched, his gaze dropped to his feet. Amaimon walked over and roughly patted him on his head. “But his pilot light’s lit again, off your flames. Good job. Doesn’t matter how warm you make the room, a fire demon with his flames put out ’ll freeze to death.” 

“He stopped shivering after I used my flames,” Rin confirmed.

Konekomaru returned with the blankets and a set of scrubs. He turned them over to Rin who carefully maneuvered the top over Renzo’s head and arms, covering up his chest and the fading remnants of his injuries 

Amaimon threaded his fingers into the vines covering, creating, the walls of the shelter. “Shiemi says he just needs time now, needs to get stronger, needs his body to come back into equilibrium.”

The others nodded and settled in to wait. 

Shiemi’s three hours passed and the warmth and caring projected by the very walls of the structure faded into a neutral healing environment. Renzo’s sleep became restless and several times Rin saw tears leaking out from beneath his lashes. Then his breathing caught and shuttered.

The others glanced at each other, knowing Renzo was awake but he kept his eyes closed after a moment he pretended to roll over in his sleep so his back was to the others. Rin bent over Renzo and, his voice too low for human ears, he whispered, “It’ll be fine. Everyone’s already used to me, they won’t freak out about you. And if they do I’ll… bop ‘em or something. Even Bon, somehow, if I need to. But no one’s gonna so don’t worry.” Amaimon and Egyn both gave Rin an approving look.

* * *

“I’m gonna find a restroom,” Kinzo awkwardly excused himself as he stepped over Juuzo to exit Renzo’s shelter shortly after dawn the next morning.

Juuzo gave him a knowing look but didn’t contest the statement. The others only rolled over and went back to sleep.

Once inside, Kinzo’s feet turned toward his father’s office. Despite the painfully early hour the bottle blond was unsurprised to find Yaozo sitting at his desk. There was a pile of paperwork in front of the older Shima, but he’d laid his pen aside and was staring out the window at the courtyard below.

“Hey Dad. Ren’s been breathing normally now,” Kinzo reported. “And he looks a lot better thanks to Shiemi-san, I can almost see his scars fading as we watch. He woke up a few hours ago, even if he pretended that he hadn’t so he didn’t have to talk to anyone.”

Yaozo’s shoulders sagged in relief.

“Also his demon-fire doesn’t start dying out the moment Rin lets go of him anymore,” Kinzo continued. “Rin says he burned away everything that’s not Renzo. I don’t think that kid could lie to save his life so it’s probably true: The horns, the tail, the ears, that’s Renzo now.” A tense silence filled the office as Kinzo waited for his father’s reaction. 

“It’s not complete unexpected,” Yaozo admitted after a long silence.

“If we sawed off the horns, Ren’d probably pass for human,” Kinzo offered. “Nothing to do about the tail, but Rin, Amaimon and Egyn all seem pretty good about hiding theirs when they want to.” Kinzo didn’t suggest chopping off Renzo’s new tail, the pain of such an injury was so severe demons had been known to die of it and it was rumored that such deaths were permanent, no mere exorcism.

* * *

It was mid-morning when Mephisto made his reappearance in Shimane. He strolled up the street from the boarded up Fox Alley to the hotel the True Cross had appropriated, swinging his umbrella rapidly as he walked. When he turned toward the leafy shelter in the courtyard Shima Yaozo threw open his window and demanded, “What are you doing?”

Mephisto bared his teeth in a shark-like grin. “Upper First Class Exorcist Shima, a good day to you.”

“Sir Pheles, I asked you a question,” Yaozo said. He ducked back inside and a moment later ran outside to plant himself firmly in Mephisto’s path.

Mephisto scowled at the senior exorcist. Then he cocked his head to the side and smiled too broadly. “I had assumed you wanted his heart sealed. But if you don’t mind him leaking soul-destroying flames everywhere I could just leave.”

Yaozo looked dubious. “Why you? Not Uchusma or Karura?”

“Why not me?” Mephisto replied facetiously.

“Because you’re a trickster,” Yaozo replied.

Juuzo and Kinzo stepped out of the shelter. Bon, Konekomaru, Izumo, Rin and the two Hell KIngs trailed behind them. Bon made his way to the front of the group. “Shima-san, not to be disrespectful, but Renzo doesn’t recognize you as his guardian and from what I’ve seen he’s got reason,” he said. Then he turned to Mephisto, “Won’t Renzo heal more quickly with his heart unsealed?”

Mephisto waved to the earthen shelter, “The healing atmosphere Moriyama-san has created will do more. I see no reason to delay in establishing the initial seal and giving him control over it.”

“Can we stay?” Juuzo asked.

“No,” Mephisto replied bluntly. “You’re all terribly distracting.” He made a shooing gesture. “Out, out.” 

At Mephisto’s command Amaimon promptly vaulted over the nearest wall and vanished while Egyn edged around Mephisto to the courtyard’s entrance, more formally, but still quickly taking his leave. Bon and Juuzo traded a concerned look but led the others away without further protest. Rin was the last one out, as he passed Mephisto he paused, “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“Ahh, my little brother is worrying about me, how very cute!” Mephisto exclaimed. “But tsk, tsk, it’s the elder’s job to worry.”

Rin just looked at him.

Mephisto faltered. “Sometimes, Shiro’s influence is almost painfully obvious,” he said. To himself he mumbled. “I don’t remember the last time someone who was not him asked me that…” Then he pasted on a wide smile. “I am ‘okay’ enough for this. Now shoo.” To Mephisto’s surprise Rin reached out and squeezed his arm briefly before leaving.

Mephisto brushed aside the curtain of vines and let himself into the shelter. At his entrance Renzo was jerked from a restless sleep into a state of pure panic. Dark flames flared around him as he scrambled into a corner trying to escape the overwhelming edged power flooding his sanctuary like a wave of broken glass.

“Apologies,” Mephisto said, his voice brittle and falsely bright. “I haven’t quite managed to tamp down my power levels yet and it seems you are somewhat more sensitive to things like that than our Rin-kun. Well, I suppose it is excusable; Rin-kun first awoke as a demon in Satan’s presence. After that the rest of us just don’t rate. I’m honestly not sure which of you deserve my condolences.” 

Renzo could only stare at Mephisto from his corner with wide frightened eyes.

Mephisto took a deep breath, his eyes fluttered closed for a moment and the energy in the room shifted. The sharp edges smoothed away and Renzo was hit with a sudden desire to press himself up against Mephisto. He leaned forward, his defenses lowering, a hopeful smile lighting his face. Then the fact that this was Mephisto sunk in. “What the fuck did you do?” Renzo demanded angrily.

“Not better?” Mephisto asked trying to sound innocent. The jagged edginess returned but this time it was an almost welcome splash of cold water. 

“Now then,” Mephisto continue with a flick of his hand that was a bit too fast to be the dramatic sweep it was intended as. “Your demon-heart needs to be sealed until you learn to manipulate it yourself. I don’t happened to have another demon sword lying about but then you don’t have quite so much power as Rin-kun to contain either.”

Mephisto produced a heart-shaped locket with a flourish but didn’t bother to wait for Renzo’s reaction before pressing on. “The chain is charmed to be unbreakable, you won’t lose it. The locket is as strong as the heart it contains. There, that should be enough of a prelude,” Mephisto moved forward suddenly. Before Renzo could react the King of Time had sketched a pentagram into the air over Renzo’s heart then he pressed the locket through the pentagram.

Renzo gasped. His head spun. There was a brief, terrifying feel of wrongness. And then Mephisto was holding up a mirror for him. His flames were gone. His horns had shrunk down to bony nubs that barely showed through his hair. His ears lay close to his skull again, although they were still pointed, and his eyes had whites again even if their color was darker than before. 

Renzo blinked at his reflection, “Thanks,” he said flatly. “Now I’ll only half see the friend I got killed every time I look in a mirror.”


	28. To Make Clean

After Mephisto had kicked them out of Renzo’s room, Izumo squared her shoulders and turned to Rin. “Could you help me track down Amaimon?” she said. “I need to ask him something.”

Rin looked puzzled, “Okay, but why?”

“Gaia purified the land around Delphi in a moment,” Izumo said. “The Illuminati have been polluting Shimane for years. I’m Inari’s miko, the last surviving officiate of the temple, it’s my responsibility to put that to right.” She glanced at the ground, “I don’t want to inter my mother’s ashes in contaminated soil and I- I don’t know that I’m skilled enough to purify the land even though I’m the only one left to perform the bosho batsujo no gi and all the other rites. My mother was Inari’s miko, it wouldn’t be right to turn to another sect for her funeral.”

Rin grimaced sympathetically and squeezed her shoulder gently as Uke and Mike leaned against her legs. “Of course I’ll help, just let me know what I can do,” he said.

“Cook the wake refreshments,” Mike suggested immediately. 

Izumo frowned at her familiar but Rin nodded. “We’ll have to make sure the preparation area is purified from the Illuminati’s damage too,” he said. “I know the True Cross is shipping our food in from Kyoto. Lets go find Amaimon.” 

“Why don’t you stay here and let Rin bring Amaimon back,” Bon suggested. “You’re still hurting, don’t exhaust yourself running around.”

Izumo bristled but Rin nodded. “That’s a good idea,” he said and dashed off.

“Stop telling him what to do!” Izumo hissed.

“I didn’t!” Bon snapped back. “I told you what I thought would help.”

“Well don’t!”

“Could you not start this again?” Konekomaru sighed. “Please? I’ve still got to tell Rin that he might be able to cure the zombies after all. The two of you fighting won’t make things easier for him.” 

A few minutes later, Rin returned with Amaimon in tow. Izumo stood up and bowed formally to him. “Amaimon, King of Earth, son of the Great Lady Gaia, I entreat you to listen to my plea,” she said. 

Amaimon straightened from his habitual slouch, “Kamiki Izumo, Miko to Inari, Kin of Azazel. I promise nothing but I will hear you,” he replied.

Izumo took a deep breath. “Azazel has abandoned us,” she said. “He allowed the Kin and followers of Lucifer to pollute our land without offering challenge. Thanks to your intercession, along with your allies, Samael, the King of Time and Okumura Rin,” Izumo licked her lips and glanced apologetically at Rin, “the son of Satan and a Prince of Hell, Lucifer’s oppression of our land has ended.” She bowed again, deeply. “In the name of Inari we offer you thanks.”

Amaimon smirked, “It was my pleasure. What do you want?”

“Once, long ago, before Azazel’s return to power, the ancestors of Inari were Kin of Gaia,” Izumo said. “Although we are of the Kingdom of Spirit, we are the spirit of the land, gods of the harvest. We entreat Gaia to reclaim this land and to accept us as her vassals once again.”

“Azazel won’t like it, you defecting,” Amaimon pointed out.

“Do you care?” Izumo asked bluntly.

A slow, wicked grin spread across Amaimon’s face. “Tick off one of my asshole big brothers? I love it.” he admitted. For a moment the look in his eyes turned distant. “Perform your purification, Mother will lend Inari her strength.” 

“Thank you,” Izumo replied.

* * *

‘There were certain advantages to being on the outs with everyone,’ Yaozo thought as he let himself into Renzo’s shelter. Apart from the group, with no one speaking to him he’d been in the perfect spot to notice Mephisto leaving and so he took the chance check up on his child without company, or a confrontation.

Renzo was sitting on his bed, his legs pulled in, a blanket wrapped around him. The first thing that Yaozo noticed was that with his demon-heart sealed Renzo looked almost human again. His hair obscured both the pointed tips of his ears and what remained of his horns. Still the twitching tail poking out from the bundle of blankets remained as a reminder of Renzo’s new nature.

“Renzo,” Yaozo greeted him quietly, trying not to startle him. 

Renzo jerked his tail beneath the blankets, and he pulled them up over his head like a hood. “Why are you here?” he demanded.

“My son is almost died, where else would I be?” Yaozo asked.

“I’m not,” Renzo denied. 

Yaozo’s stomach twisted, his mouth dropped open in shock. That was the one thing Renzo was never supposed to know, Yaozo had only told Juuzo after the Illuminati attack the previous summer so that someone would understand Yamantaka’s claim on Renzo if anything should happen to him.

“I’m not you son, I’m not even human. And you’re an exorcist,” Renzo replied, his chin came up and he glared at his father but he didn’t emerge from beneath the blankets.

And Yaozo felt everything sliding into perspective. “You’re my grandson, who is exactly like a son to me,” he said firmly. 

“Liar,” Renzo accused. “If that were true you wouldn’t resent me so much for not dying instead of Takezo.” 

Even with Juuzo’s warning, hearing it from Renzo’s lips felt like a punch to the gut for Yaozo. After a moment Renzo let the blanket fall away, his posture shifted into his typical, careless slouch, Yaozo could see Renzo’s defenses locking into place. He took two steps forward into the room and pulled Renzo into a hug. “What did I do to make you think I resented you?” Yaozo asked. “Whatever it was, I’m sorry.”

Within the circle of Yaozo’s arms Renzo wrapped his arms defensively around his stomach. “Next to Takezo I was always a disappointment, you never let me forget that for a minute. Once I remembered that he died saving me, it all finally made sense. Even before he died, you were already training me to be Bon’s bodyguard. I was alway expendable, you had plenty of other kids… Your real kids,” Renzo added bitterly. “And then Todo explained: I’m just a mistake Take made that you had to cover up. That guy might treat the truth like a pretzel, but that doesn’t mean change that there is a core of truth to what he says... No wonder you didn’t care if I got killed.”

“Renzo! You are my family and I love you, that has always been true.” Yaozo exclaimed. “And statistically speaking, being the head priest’s bodyguard is safer than being a run-of-the-mill exorcist.” Yaozo shook his head ruefully, “Although with Ryuji as your primary I can see how you might not feel that way.”

Renzo said nothing.

“We talked about Takezo a lot, yes,” Yaozo continued a bit desperately, “We wanted you to know him, at least indirectly. Take loved you, he did his best to be a father to you. When you were an infant he was almost always the first one up when you cried at night. As soon as you learned to walk you followed him everywhere. He did what he could but he was so young when you were born. He was still in high school, he wasn’t in a position to support a family. It was best for everyone that we claimed you as ours.”

Renzo pulled away from Yaozo, his expression was disbelieving.

“When did you stop trusting us?” Yaozo asked sadly. He stayed sitting on the edge of Renzo’s bed, but didn’t try to close the distance Renzo had put between them.

“Maybe when I realized that you saw the one person who didn’t wish I’d never been born as subhuman,” Renzo replied, giving Yaozo a broad, empty smile that displayed his new fangs. 

“I don’t distrust Yamantaka because he’s a demon,” Yaozo stated. “I distrust him because he killed Takezo.”

“To save me.”

Yaozo’s back stiffened in response to the challenge in Renzo’s voice. “That’s right. But Renzo, I don’t, I have never blamed you for surviving when Take didn’t. I do blame Yamantaka for forcing Take to chose between his life and yours.”

Dark fire flickered angrily in Renzo’s eyes.

Yaozo gestured for Renzo to allow him to continue. “Evidence forces me to admit that somewhere along the line Yamantaka came to truly care for you, possibly even love you. But the same wasn’t true for Takezo.” 

“I know Take’s life was worth more than mine,” Renzo snapped. 

“I didn’t-”

“But you just assume the choice didn’t have to be made at all,” Renzo continued, heedless of Yaozo’s attempt to break in. “That Yamantaka was the bad guy back then, not that Takezo made a choice no one else liked. He always had my back, he supported me when no one else did. Yamantaka DIED to save me. Lucifer was going to destroy my soul after he finished torturing me! He’s DEAD and you still hate him. You don’t give a damn about everything he’s done for me because Takezo has always been more important to you!”

“Dad,” Juuzo said quietly before Yaozo could respond. The elder Shima turned and saw Juuzo and Kinzo standing in the doorway. “Do you really think upsetting Ren like this is a good idea?” Juuzo asked.

Yaozo stopped and took a second look at Renzo. The pink haired boy’s hands, half-hidden in the blankets were shaking and his shoulders were tense. He was blinking too often and his breathing was ragged. Yaozo sighed and left.

Once he’d gone, Renzo laid down and turned his face toward the wall. Only the soft stifled gasps gave away that he was crying. After a few minutes Kinzo sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand on Renzo’s shoulder. “Leave me alone,” Renzo choked out.

* * *

Carefully Izumo pressed the sleeves of her traditional hakui so it would be pristine and wrinkle free for the next day, “We’ll use Gaia’s favor to perform a general purification of the land, then I’ll perform the specific gravesite purification for Mother afterwards,” she told Uke, Mike and their kin. “It wouldn’t be proper to center the general ceremony of purification at the cemetery. It will be at the temple, that will help shift the land’s center from Fox Alley back to where it should be. We’ll set up a Chinowa ring for an Oharae ceremony there as well for anyone who wants cleansing of their person.”

Mike nodded, “What the Illuminati did to our land counts as a disaster.”

“I hate to rely on the True Cross to spread the word about the Oharae but I don’t think we have a choice,” Izumo continued. “I don’t want to delay and posting fliers won’t get the word out quickly enough.”

Uke nodded in agreement. “The Kin can spread charms throughout the prefecture tonight in preparation to perform the general purification tomorrow but they aren’t good at talking to people.”

“Given that most people only see them as foxes in this day and age, they aren’t great messengers any more,” Izumo said. For several moments she was silent, then she said, “I’m a terrible daughter aren’t I? I’ve never put my mother first, not even now, after she died saving my life. I’m prioritizing other things over her funeral.”

“You’re becoming a good Miko both to Inari and to this land,” Uke replied. Izumo only heard that he didn’t say she wasn’t a terrible daughter.

* * *

Rin glanced from the deserted kitchen to Amaimon, Bon, Konekomaru and the five of Uke and Mike’s Kin who’d followed them. “Let me know if this works okay?” he said. Then he hesitated, “Um… Maybe all of you should step outside while I’m doing this,” he suggested.

“Sure,” Bon replied, we’ll be right outside.

Once the others had stepped out Rin closed his eyes and took several deep, meditative breaths. Then he drew Kurikara and planted it point first at the center of the kitchen. “Impurities, burn,” Rin commanded and a veritable bonfire of blue filled the kitchen. Eyes closed, Rin pictured his flames as a cleansing agent, scouring every last surface. After around ten minutes Rin drew his flames back in and called, “How’s it look?”

“Dead,” Amaimon replied as he came in.

“I was trying to sterilize it,” Rin said. 

“Sterilize, that’s a good word for it,” Konekomaru replied looking around curiously.

“I don’t sense anything,” Bon said. “Normally when you exorcise a place you push out a malevolent spirit with a benevolent or at least a neutral one. This place is just empty… It’s different.” He looked to Amaimon for answers.

“I don’t know how Father’s flames work,” Amaimon replied disinterestedly. “Just that they’re the strongest power in inner Gehenna.”

The five kitsune glanced at eachother. “We can help,” they declared. Then the five of them scattered across the kitchen and started rubbing up against things. 

“If you guys pee on anything I’ll take a spatula to you!” Rin exclaimed when he realized that the foxes were marking territory.

Bon chuckled as he caught one fox carefully lowering his leg and slinking away. “You wiped Lucifer’s influence clean, now they’re reclaiming this place for Inari?”

“Looks like,” Rin agreed.

Once they were done the five fox spirits lined up in front of Rin. “This is a good place now,” they declared. 

Rin grinned, “Thanks, now we just have to get ingredients from the stocks Shima-san is bringing in from Kyoto and I’m all set.”

“Why don’t you go with him,” Bon suggested to Konekomaru. “You needed to talk to Rin anyway, right?”

Konekomaru gulped then nodded. ‘Putting things off never helps.’

“About what?” Rin asked, curious and a little worried.

Konekomaru started down the path, Rin followed after him. “Do you remember that one zombie you used your flames on?” Konekomaru asked after they’d been walking for several minutes.

Rin cringed, remembering the man screaming in agony and horror until Juuzo had killed him. “Yeah,” he replied thickly.

Konekomaru looked apologetic. “I’m pretty sure you exorcised the parasitic demon, just like you were trying to, but your powers don’t heal. It’s like that kitchen, you destroyed the bad, but you didn’t replace it with anything else.” He took a deep breath, “We captured a number of the zombies after the reinforcements showed up. Now we have resources to try to heal them after you exorcise them.”

For a moment Rin’s mouth worked silently. “I didn’t have to kill them?” he asked weakly.

“No!” Konekomaru replied vehemently. “Back there, without backup, we couldn’t afford NOT to kill them. Now, under controlled conditions we can afford to try save them.”

Rin’s lips thinned, he gave a sharp, jerky nod. Konekomaru could still see guilt in his eyes.

“I made the call,” Konekomaru blurted out, letting Rin see his own guilt. “I decided not to tell you because I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to save Renzo if we tried to save them then.” 

Rin nodded again, his guilt undiminished. “You’re probably right,” he said without conviction. “You’re the one who’s good at tactics, not me.”

Konekomaru slumped in defeat. Rin’s attempt to reassure him only made him realize that he wouldn’t be able to convince Rin that they’d done the right thing when he wasn’t convinced himself.

* * *

The next morning, a half hour before dawn, Izumo, flanked by her familiars and all their kin, stepped out of the ancient temple built around the Sessho-seki, the once resting place of the fox-demon that had bewitched an emperor. There was a small clearing behind the shrine and there was a spring, it’s banks paved with stones at the center of the clearing which fed a small stream. The water bubbling up from the spring had an unhealthy greyish cast to it. The once pristine mountain that had provided a breath-taking backdrop for the temple was now dominated by the Inari Dream Tower.

Izumo’s dark hair was pulled into a single tail secured at the nape of her neck, her red hakama swished around her legs as she walked, her steps slow and regal to keep from disturbing the elaborate headdress she wore. She carried a haraigushi, the ribbons fluttering lightly in the breeze in one hand and a bell staff in the other. Mike carried a handkerchief full of salt in his mouth while Uke had a long-handled dipper. 

Rin, Bon and Konekomaru, dressed as formally as they could given the circumstances, stood off to one side. The people of Shimane, everyone from the field hospital who wasn’t bedridden and quite a few who wouldn’t have made it to the clearing without aid crowded the perimeter of the clearing. A large lacquered box stacked high with paper dolls had been placed near the spring. Off to one side a shelf had been set-up, it sagged under the weight of offerings placed on it. The large thatched Chinowa ring had been set up on the path leading to the clearing, and even more people were arriving through it. 

Izumo’s steps faltered at the sight of the crowd waiting for her. Then she tilted her chin up and continued toward the spring. As they reached the point halfway between the spring and the temple the pair of byakko moved ahead of Izumo. They laid their items down on the stones edging the spring then sat on their haunches. Izumo stepped up to the spring between them.

The crowd parted fearfully and Amaimon stepped out of the forest with his heart unsealed. A thick, lizard-like tail poked out from between the ragged tails of his jacket, heavy horns crowned his head. His feet were bare, with each step his clawed toes dug deep into the earth. He approached the spring from the side opposite Izumo. He stopped a meter short of the spring and waited, staring at Izumo judgmentally. 

Izumo bowed to Amaimon then to Mike. She handed her familiar the bell staff then turned and bowed to Uke, handing him the haraigushi. Izumo knelt at the side of the spring and reached for the dipper.

“Wait!” Egyn strode into the clearing, wading through the stream. The water swirled around his legs somehow never staining his white trousers, his indigo eyes glowed against his lighter blue skin. “As Gaia blesses your endeavor so shall I,” he declared. He gestured grandly and a line of kappas followed him. “Fresh water, unsullied by Lucifer’s putrefying occupation of this once gracious land of Inari.” One by one, the kappas marched up to the edge of the spring and tipped a small amount of the water out of the bowls on their head into the spring. Where the waters mixed a sparkling, crystalline clarity spread across the spring. 

Amaimon wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes, but Izumo bowed deeply to Egyn. “Water King, on behalf of Inari I thank you for this boon.”

With great ceremony, Izumo picked up the dipper. She poured water from the stream over first one hand then the other, then took a small sip of water from her cupped hands and spat it back into her hand then allowed the remaining water in the dipper to trickle over the handle. She set the dipper aside and picked up the handkerchief of salt. Cradling it in one hand, she walked slowly around the spring, casting a handful of salt across the ground at each of the cardinal points while she chanted in a high, clear voice. When she was done she replaced the salt then solemnly bowed to Mike, reclaiming her bells. 

Izumo stood and stepped away from the spring. She shook her bells once, sharply. Then turned and spun gracefully ringing the bells again. As Izumo continued to dance she felt a vast calm descending on her. She felt her mind expanding with an alien consciousness, a much more ancient mind with a broader aspect filled her and became part of her. It was entirely different from the bestial fury that had filled her in Gedoin’s lab. One last chime of the bells ended the dance. 

Izumo turned to face Amaimon across the spring, her eyes never straying from him she held out the bells and Mike took them back from her. Izumo bowed to Amaimon, for a long moment she kept her head lowered. “Amaimon, son of Gaia, King of Earth. We are Inari, the spirit of this land. We call on you in your mother’s name, and submit ourselves to her as our ancestors once did. We ask her blessing on this land, long neglected under the rule of Azazel.” 

Amaimon nodded, acknowledging Izumo and the god who rode her. “On my mother’s behalf I accept Inari, the spirit of this land, back into the Kingdom of Earth. I extend Mother’s blessing of fertility and renewal to the soil of this land.” He curled his toes into the earth. “Begin.” 

Then Uke came up and offered Izumo the haraigushi. Izumo began a new dance. As the power swelled up from the earth into her, Uke, Mike and their kin joined the dance, circling around Izumo. The power reached its zenith as dawn broke. The kin scattered to the wind, in their wake the grass and trees took on deeper hues of green. The crowd gasped as the wave of purifying power engulfed them and washed away the effects of years of subjugation by the Illuminati. Izumo held the last pose of her dance, arms extended above her head the ribbons of her haraigushi swirling around her on the invisible currents of power. 

The power rushing through her made Izumo’s veins burn, she forced herself to breath slowly even though her instincts told her to gasp for more air. If this was Gaia’s blessing, attenuated through Amaimon and then Inari, Izumo wondered how Shiemi could possibly withstand containing the whole of Gaia’s power. The mountain about them trembled, slowly cracks began forming on the face of the Inari Dream Tower. The cracks started at the claw marks Amaimon had scored down the front of the building the day before and spread, slowly but relentlessly. In the clearing they could hear distant shouts as the True Cross knights evacuated the Tower. Amaimon grinned and stomped his foot, the mountain trembled again and the Tower collapsed into the underground complex beneath it, leaving the massive building a simple pile of rubble. 

And still the Kin were racing outward, carrying the blessing of Gaia with them. Izumo felt it when the Kin reached the borders of Shimane and stopped, becoming part of nature once again. She lowered her arms and handed the haraigushi back to Uke, then she knelt beside the box. Gracefully Izumo cast the dolls into the water, sending the bad spirits that had been plaguing the land away. Once the box was empty the purification of Shimane was finished. Gaia’s promise had been upheld, and with that Inari broke ties with the Kingdom of Spirit, renewing ancient ties to become once again Kin of Gaia. Izumo smiled to herself as she swayed, her home was free of the corrupting influence of the Illuminati and she’d done it without indebting herself to the True Cross. 

Conscious of the crowd’s eyes on her, Izumo stood slowly, willing herself not to stumble she turned and walked toward the temple. Rin, Bon and Konekomaru hurried after her. As soon as she was out of the public eye, Izumo’s frame slumped. In an instant Rin was beside her, his arm wrapped supportively around her waist, he led her toward a cushion.

“I’ve got to finish the purification of the grave site for mother,” Izumo protested. 

Rin stopped, “Yeah,” he said with understanding. He glanced at Uke and Mike, “What does she need to do before she can rest?”

“After the purification we should delay starting the wake so the house can be prepared,” Uke decided. “Izumo doesn’t need to do that.”

“After the grave site purification you’re going straight to bed little sis,” Mike declared.


	29. Lay to Rest

After snapping at Kinzo, Renzo shut his eyes, bit his lip and refused to acknowledge his older brother No, his uncle. When Kinzo gave up and backed off, Juuzo took his place. Face still turned toward the wall, Renzo tried to shoved him away, in response Juuzo caught the younger boy’s arm and pulled him into a hug. Renzo squirmed and fought, Juuzo only tightened his hold. After a few minutes tears started running down Renzo face and his breath came in choked off gasps. “You don’t care!” he accused. “Yamantaka’s gone and you don’t care!” 

Renzo felt the locket around his neck throb. Juuzo stumbled back, swaying as the black flames leaking past the seal on Renzo’s heart wrapped themselves around the boy. “Ren, enough!” Juuzo exclaimed. “I don’t take it lightly when someone who follows me into battle doesn’t come home.”

Renzo slumped back on the bed, the flames vanished as Juuzo’s words undercut his anger.

“Of all of us who came to your rescue he was the one I could be most sure of,” Juuzo continued. “Amaimon and Egyn were just there because Shiemi-chan loves you. I can’t hold it against Kamiki, but her younger sister took priority for her. When Bon doesn’t take the bigger picture and the Myodha into account I have to remind him; because of his position he doesn’t get to put any one person first. Konekomaru didn’t have the right skills and Rin…” Juuzo shrugged. “Rin’s a good Samaritan, he cares about people he’s never even met. I could trust that there was nothing Yamantaka wouldn’t do to see you back safely, without regard for anyone else.”

“Do you think Dad’s right?” Renzo asked in a small voice. “Did Yamantaka kill Take?”

Juuzo sat down on the bed beside Renzo. “I don’t know,” he said. “In the end all I know for sure is that they both loved you. Take completely doted on you.” Juuzo reached out to stroke Renzo’s hair comfortingly. As his fingers parted the tousled pink locks he noticed Renzo’s roots were dead-white instead of dark and shuddered at the reminder of how close Yamantaka had come to accidentally taking Renzo’s life. “When Yamantaka’s powers stayed elevated even months after Take died Dad figured out what he’d done. He probably meant to secure ongoing protection for you, but Take had to have made the deal on the spur of the moment. Dad was afraid Yamantaka would abuse the claim he had on your life so he kept it a secret. He only told me after the attack this summer, he wanted to be sure someone knew if anything happened to him. Then I see Yamantaka going nuts, desperate to protect you and not even realizing that he was killing you.”

“Yamantaka’s gone,” Renzo’s voice broke. “He’ll never come back, all that’s left is…”

“Is the power he GAVE you. If it had been any other demon Lucifer’s promise would have been fulfilled and he would have destroyed your soul. Yamantaka chose to save you,” Juuzo said firmly. “He went above and beyond what he was oath-bound to do. For you, because he cared about you.”

Renzo’s shoulders shook as he started crying harder. “Sort of a theme,” he said. “The only people who actually give a damn about me keep dying to prove it.”

Juuzo pulled Renzo up into a hug. “Damn it Ren! There was stuff we didn’t tell you but I don’t know how you got it in your head that we don’t care about you. We’re your family. Whether your Take’s kid or Mom and Dad’s doesn’t matter, you’re our Renzo and we all love you. As soon as you’re well enough I’m taking you home and you’ll see, we’ll make everything alright again.”

Within the circle of his older brother’s arm Renzo pulled his knees up to his chest wrapped his arms around them. Juuzo rubbed his back and Kinzo sat down on his other side. Over Renzo’s head they traded a worried look. Bon and Konekomaru poked their heads through the door sometime later, tentatively checking up on their friend. Kinzo waved them off before Renzo really noticed their presence. As night fell the atmosphere in the little shelter changed, becoming warmer, more personal. A vine detached itself from the wall and crept over to them. It prodded at Renzo’s hand until he opened his fingers, allowing it to twine itself around them. Renzo lifted his head, “Shiemi-chan?” he asked. The vine squeezed lightly in response. 

A long while later, after Shiemi’s window closed, when the vine became just a vine again, Renzo pulled away from Juuzo and Kinzo. “Thanks,” he said gruffly as he wiped his face on his sleeve. “I’m okay now.”

‘Okay for now,’ Juuzo thought but it wasn’t the sort of lie that you call someone on. 

“Shiemi said Izumo-chan’s getting ready for her mom’s funeral tomorrow. Could you guys find out when it is?” Renzo continued. “I should go, Tamamo-chan and I talked once. It was a nice distraction from being tortured.” Juuzo and Kinzo both flinched at that. “Oh, and could you get me some real clothes?” Renzo asked.

* * *

The next afternoon Renzo was glaring at his tail, trying to figure out how it was supposed to fit under the True Cross Academy uniform his brothers had located for him when Rin poked his head in. “Hey.”

“How the fuck do you manage this stupid thing?” Renzo exclaimed.

Rin snickered and pulled up his shirt to show Renzo how his tail was arranged. “They’re really flexible, still you’re going to want to start getting your pants a size larger to fit that first bend.” 

With Rin’s help it only took Renzo a few more tries to get his tail properly arranged under his clothes. “It’s going to hurt to sit down isn’t it?” he said with a sigh.

“Stools and benches are your friend,” Rin confirmed solemnly. 

Renzo started toward the door then hesitated. “Bon and Koneko are going to be there aren’t they?” he asked.

Rin glanced toward Renzo’s now hidden tail. “They won’t give you a hard time about being a demon,” he said. “I won’t LET them.” 

“I know,” Renzo replied, he hesitated. “It’s just…”

“Being a demon doesn’t make you a bad person,” Rin said, sounding not nearly as certain as he wanted to sound. 

Renzo chuckled darkly. “It doesn’t make me a good person either,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t care that much about being a demon. When Bon and Konekomaru had their little freak-out about you I didn’t say anything ‘cause I didn’t want to make waves; not smart for a spy ya know; but it didn’t bug me. I’d already sworn myself to the Illuminati: ‘There are no demons and no humans. Only one world.’ I actually do buy into that. I thought I could go through with destroying this world to build something better, but…” Renzo took a deep breath. “Did you guys know I’d signed on with the Illuminati before you came after me?” he asked.

Rin squirmed, they’d known but hadn’t really believed it. “Yeah, but it didn’t look like you were on their side from where we were sitting,” he said. “And, um, that oath of theirs, it sounds like they should be the good guys.”

“I thought they were,” Renzo admitted, remembering his regrets when he’d thought he was going to die. “Until the whole Impure King fiasco started.” He dug his hands into the mossy surface of the bed to hide that they were shaking. “When I took the Illuminati oath I knew they were going to get people killed and I was okay with that, the greater good and all. But then Todo’s operative hurt that kid, it didn’t have to happen, it was just cruel and stupid… Juuzo really came?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I like him or not, but I gotta admit he was pretty cool, bossing Egyn and Amaimon around and making them work together and stuff,” Rin said. “He was really worried about you… Being a demon really doesn’t bother you?”

“I hate how I became a demon,” Renzo said fiercely, “But being a demon? When I was a little kid I used to pretend Yamantaka was my dad. Rin, being a demon scares you, makes you hurt because all your life people have been telling you that demons are bad. All my life, Yamantaka-” Renzo’s voice broke. “I don’t remember Takezo, just little flashes and I don’t even know if those are real or made up. I know he’s my dad and he died to protect me, but I don’t remember him. As long as I can remember Yamantaka was the only one who has never made me feel like it should have been me that died that day. Now Yamantaka’s gone because of me and my being born only ever hurt Takezo and I’m starting to wish he had just let me die, because everyone is fucking right: I should have died.”

“And I’m starting to feel really sorry about all the crap I put you guys through last year,” Rin after a moment. “‘Cause when it’s not coming out of my mouth I can hear how moronic that sounds. Mesphisto’s probably still got that cell fixed up, we can drag you down there this time.” Then Rin pulled Renzo into a rough hug. “Don’t do any of the stupid stuff I did. It gets better, promise.”

Renzo jumped at the feel of wiry arms wrapped around him with nearly crushing force. The hug was completely unexpected, Rin almost never initiated contact and was always fearful of his own strength. “So that’s why the Salamanders like you so much,” Renzo muttered as Rin’s power swamped his senses with warmth and the promise of security. It struck the pink-haired boy that the impulsive, heart-felt hug was probably a glimpse of what Rin had been like before, it gave new weight to the promise that things would get better in time. After a long moment Renzo disentangled himself from Rin and stepped back. “We should get going.”

* * *

Egyn watched from a distance as Rin and Renzo left the shelter together. 

“You’re much too obvious to get away with making it look like an accident.”

Egyn jumped. He spun around and saw Mephisto leaning on his umbrella and smiling at him. Mephisto sauntered over to Egyn. “You’re thinking his existence could be a threat,” the white-clad demon king reached out and flicked Egyn’s forehead. “Stop being such a worry-wart little brother.”

Egyn clapped a hand over the stinging, red mark Mephisto had left behind and glared. “I’m not your brother.”

“Yes, yes. You don’t acknowledge Father.” Mephisto waved off Egyn’s words as if they were bothersome flies. “Whether you chose to admit it or not you are still Satan’s son and thus my brother. That you loathe him only makes me more interested in you. You’ve learned to think for yourself, assert your independence against one who has a natural claim to your obedience, and that means I might be able to save you little brother. Astaroth, Iblis, Lucifer and Azazel have always been such good sons. They’re so dutiful,” Mephisto shuttered delicately, “one has trouble remembering that their father is the original rebel. And who ever knows what Beelzebub thinks. Thank goodness for acrimonious break-ups, yes? Mothers who grow wise to Father’s obsession.”

“What do you want, Samael?” Egyn demanded.

Mephisto grinned at Egyn’s aggravation. “Just to tell my little brother not to worry so. I’ve decided that I am fond of Renzo-kun, I wouldn’t like anything to happen to him. I’ll spread a few rumors that he’s a weak merger. Yamantaka raised him, loved him and willingly sacrificed himself to free young Renzo from Lucifer’s machinations. Yamantaka’s devotion to his heart’s child caused Renzo’s persona to emerge from the merger unchanged.” Mephisto shrugged. “Or that’s what will be believed with the proper nudges.”

“Why would you bother?” Egyn asked. “And don’t say you’re fond of him. You’ve sent your own soulmate to his death, how many times now?”

The next thing Egyn knew, he was flat on his back, Mephisto’s hand around his throat. The smile on the elder demon’s face did nothing to warm his eyes. “Brother you might be, but don’t overstep your bounds,” Mephisto warned. Then he stepped back and straightened his gloves fastidiously. “Or, if it is easier for you to comprehend: Remember that young Renzo is now the wielder of the black flames. Among all the diverse powers found in Gehenna the ability to destroy souls, both demon and human, without contractual violation, is the most rare.”

“Still, why would you care?” Egyn asked eyeing Mephisto warily as he climbed back to his feet. “You have already secured control of the sole inheritor of Satan’s blue flames.”

Mephisto patted Egyn on the head patronizingly. “Use Rin-kun as a mere assassin? How wasteful and unimaginative you are little brother. Rin-kun, and Shiemi-chan, have a value that far exceeds their powers. But all you need to bother yourself with is this: The True Cross is mine. I will manage their interest in Demon-Eaters. Renzo is useful to me and I am fond of him, he is one of mine. You know how vindictive I can be when my toys get broken. Keep that in mind as you make your plans little brother and we will both be happier.”

* * *

As Rin and Renzo approached Izumo’s childhood home they heard raised voices. Rin groaned, his steps slowed. “I don’t even want to know what they’re fighting about.”

“Bon and Izumo?” Renzo asked as he tilted his head to the side to catch the voices more clearly. “What’s Bon thinking? Getting in a fight with Izumo-chan today.”

Rin shrugged, “Let’s wait, Konekomaru’ll stop them sooner or later.”

“I want to hear what Bon’s stubborn enough to get in a fight with Izumo-chan over at her mom’s funeral,” Renzo insisted.

“We don’t know Bon started the fight,” Rin protested allowing Renzo to lead them closer.

“Why are you even here?” Izumo demanded angrily. “It’s not like you care about my mom. You didn’t even know her!”

“We know you,” Bon sounded disgruntled. “You’re our teammate. It’s not like I’m just going to leave you on your own.”

“Well I didn’t ask you here!” Izumo shouted. “I don’t need you. I don’t need-” she broke off abruptly, when she resumed Rin and Renzo could hear that she’d changed what she was going to say. “I’ve never wanted anything to do with YOU.”

“Okay, you have a point,” Renzo said to Rin. “Not totally Bon’s fault. He’s even more pig-headed than normal when he’s out to do the right thing. ‘Course it never occurs to Bon that there might be more constructive ways to be nice.” With that the pink haired boy sauntered into the crossfire. 

“I don’t want you here either!” Izumo shouted. 

Renzo pouted at her, “But I did meet your mom, she likes flirting more than you.”

Izumo’s temper withered as the circumstances under which Renzo and her mother could have met occurred to her. Then the rest of Renzo’s comment sunk in, a strange expression, half embarrassment, half relief crossed Izumo’s face. She shook her head, “Even then, she was still flirting, with you no less. Mother always had terrible taste in men.”

“Hey!” Renzo protested. 

“I guess it’s good to know that even with everything they did to her they couldn’t change her,” Izumo said softly.

“You okay?” Renzo asked.

After a moment Izumo shook her head. Rin went and sat down beside her taking her hand in his. He stayed at her side while she received the rest of the mourners. They were mostly foxes. 

An old farmer, one of the few humans apart from the exwires to come, looked around the room. To his eyes it was largely empty. He gave Izumo an apologetic look. “It’s not that your mother was forgotten Kamiki-san, it’s that she survived ‘most everyone who knew her,” he said. “There’s some of us that stayed, out in the country-side. But it’s been an age since I’ve seen a local around town, just tourists and those outsiders who showed up with that garish monstrosity.” He glanced out the window toward the heap of rubble that had been the Inari Dream Tower and smirked. “Looks much improved now.”

Izumo followed his gaze and shared his smirk for a moment. Then she realized where most of the locals had gone: victims of Gedoin’s obscene experiments. For five years she and her mother had both failed Inari, failed Shimane and now the land that had been under her family’s protection since ancient times was a ghost town. The depopulation of the land was hidden by tourists who provided both window dressing for the trap the Illuminati had turned Shimane into and grist for the grisly mill that churned beneath the garish surface of Fox Alley.

* * *

Angel scowled darkly at the crowd of supplicants gathered before the Tholos waiting for an audience with Gaia despite the Greek military and the True Cross’ efforts to discourage them. With an arrogant sneer, he strode forward, his bearing and the over-sized sword slung across his back parted the crowd without Angel saying a word. Lightning followed in his wake. A short time later Gaia stepped out of the circular temple. She surveyed the supplicants with a regal air that looked totally alien on Shiemi’s gentle face.

“Lady Gaia,” Angel began crossly. “How are we to negotiate a treaty when I hear word that even as we enter talks you have taken more territory?”

Gaia waved off his concerns. “I was invited, beside I would have thought you would have been pleased. Azazel surrendered Inari’s fiefdom to the Kingdom of Light. When Lucifer fell Inari turned to me for aid in reclaiming it. And so the land comes to the Kingdom of Earth, ultimately to me, rather than returning to Azazel who owes his loyalty to Satan.” Gaia smiled condescendingly, “Or did the True Cross hope to sweep into the void and claim Shimane for it’s own? Is that why you are being so petulant, Sir Paladin?”

“She’s got you there,” Lightning snickered.

“Do not encourage the demon,” Angel told him haughtily. “Assiah should belong to humans.”

“I am a goddess, I formed this earth of my flesh and bones, it is only appropriate that I be worshipped,” Gaia returned.

“Well, I’ll give you that you’re a better option than Satan,” Lightning said. “But the world’s changed since you last walked Assiah, Lady Gaia. There are more than seven billion humans living here now, too many for the sort of population density you promote. You can’t just keep taking land.”

“Tell me Sir Knight, how many could have been supported by the poisoned ruin Lucifer left in his wake?” Gaia asked. “What population did I displace? I would say Lucifer filled the graveyards long before I became involved, except the bodies of the dead were fed to the monsters his followers created rather than returned to the soil. Thanks to me the land will grow fertile again if humans choose to repopulate it… Well it will be Inari’s choice as to whether or not they are welcome. Inari is my vassal not my limb.”

Angel heaved a great sigh. “We do thank you for freeing the land of the Illuminati’s poisons,” he said reluctantly. “It would have taken us many months to heal the land without your intervention. However, in the name of continuing amicable negotiations between us, I would request your word that you will consult with the True Cross before claiming any further territory.”

Gaia’s gaze sharpened. “Consult with you as the True Cross is acting as humanity’s representative in dealings with Gehenna?” she asked.

“Precisely,” Angel replied.

“But do all humans acknowledge you as their proper representative?” Gaia asked. “I will promise you that I will consult a locally acknowledged human representative of the area in question. And I offer you the assurance that I have no great ambition toward world conquest.” She gave Lightning a nod of acknowledgement, “As you mentioned there are too many humans about, I find the notion of cities highly distasteful although apparently necessary, I would not care to rule one. However, I am a Goddess, it is my obligation and privilege to listen to the requests of those who come to me as supplicants.”

“We’ll accept that promise for the moment,” Lightning said. “Subject to renegotiation once we’ve come to an agreement on the definition of a ‘locally acknowledged human representative’.” 

“Agreed,” Gaia stated with a dignified nod of her head.

Lightning held up a hand to stall her, “Also, as Inari came to you as a supplicant, I would argue that your work in Shimane is not yet complete. You healed the land, but some of the victims of the Illuminati, the zombies they created, still suffer. Would you finish the job and help them?”

“I cannot free them of the parasites that infect them, and there are limits to what I can heal while leaving them human,” Gaia replied.

“We, or rather Okumura Rin, has the means to deal with the infection,” Lightning replied. “As for the other, well, we should probably talk to the victims or their families about how much they’d want done.”

“I have assumed responsibility for them,” Gaia agreed.

* * *

Much later Izumo returned to the temple carrying the small urn containing her mother’s ashes, Uke, Mike and Rin accompanied her. She placed the urn on a small shelf beside the ashes of her ancestors, generation after generation of Inari’s mikos, and then bowed her head in prayer for a few minutes. Slowly Izumo stood, she turned and walked outside. Her expression was carefully composed, her eyes dry. 

Rin took her hand as they left the temple, after a moment Izumo’s fingers clenched around his with all her strength. Uke and Mike exchanged a glance then vanished in twin swirls of smoke. Rin and Izumo walked in silence for a time then Izumo ducked her head and whispered, “I’m a terrible daughter.” 

Rin sat her down on the stair leading from the temple then plopped down beside her. 

“I hated my mom for so long,” Izumo admitted staring at her feet. “Then she- My whole life, she always let me down. She was never there when I needed her, until this time. And now she’s dead.”

Rin gave Izumo’s arm a slight tug so she was leaning against his shoulder. “And you’re still mad about before but you feel guilty.”

“Yeah,” Izumo admitted.

“I- it’s not really the same but-” Rin temporized. “I mean I never doubted Shiro loved me, except well just when,” he tugged at the point of his ear. “And I wish, I wish to God, I’d never doubted him then or at least that I’d kept my stupid mouth shut and just done what I was told. But, um, I am sort of mad at him because he let me find out like that, because he didn’t ever trust me with the truth until he didn’t have a choice. So maybe it’s a little the same.”

Izumo let herself slump so her head was resting on Rin’s shoulder. “It’s close enough,” she said.

“This summer Tatsuma-san and I talked quite a bit about how I feel about Dad,” Rin said. “He helped me figure out that even if Dad wasn’t totally perfect it didn’t mean he didn’t love me and wasn’t trying. He also told me it was okay if I was upset about some of the things Dad got wrong, even though he died; that I could be upset at him and still love him too. That I should forgive him for making a couple of mistakes, instead of feeling like shit because he died protecting me and here I am criticizing him. That Dad dying and Dad making mistakes are two separate things and I can have separate feelings about them.” Then Rin shrugged, “‘Course Tatsuma-san’s almost as bad as Mephisto about always having a secondary motive and he’d like Bon to forgive him for being less than perfect too. Still, I do feel more okay thinking about it like that.” 

“When Tsukumo and I were little Mother called us her treasures,” Izumo said after a bit. “Then she threw us away for that man; my father. He told her to choose between him or us and she chose him. I thought I knew where I stood with her, then she does this. She always acted like such a child, demanding I ‘save’ her whenever she was unhappy. She was the adult! She was supposed to take care of me not the other way around! I gave up on her ever being there for me before I turned ten, then this. When I was lost she brought me back at the cost of her life. Was I wrong about her all along? Would she not have throw us away for him if I’d have been a better daughter?” 

Rin chewed on his lower lip for several minutes. “I think your mom messed up, picking your father over you and your little sister,” he finally said. “First ‘cause you’re her kids and she shouldn’t have thrown you away for anyone. And second, ‘cause, well, your father pretty much sounds like a creep asking her something like that. Who’d want someone like that?” Rin’s nose wrinkled up in disgust. “And that’s coming from me. You know who my father is, so that’s saying something.”

A choked giggle escaped Izumo. “You’re right. I’m terrified thinking about what your father might want you for, but at least he wants you. Mine never wanted Tsukumo or I for anything at all. If anyone deserved to get eaten by his possessed lover it was him.”

“So choosing him over you was a mistake and it wasn’t your fault,” Rin said firmly. “But when your mom saw you losing yourself to Inari she saw you needed help and she did something about it. Maybe she didn’t realize you needed her back then too.”


	30. Forking Paths

“Renzo, I hear you’re coming to Kyoto with me instead of going back to Delphi with Rin and Koneko,” Bon said in lieu of a greeting. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Renzo replied unenthusiastically 

“Why?” Bon asked bluntly.

“Juu-nisan says so?” Renzo offered.

Bon rolled his eyes. “That’s not a reason. I read the emails you sent from Delphi,” he grinned a bit teasingly. “That’s pretty much the first time I’ve ever heard of you using your powers for good.”

“Wha-huh?” Renzo managed.

“Oh come on,” Bon said. “You’re better than anyone I know at persuading people. Our whole lives I’ve been watching you talk your way out of trouble or out of work. In Delphi you were using those same skills to get a town built. Instead of just being out for yourself, you were organizing people, acquiring resources and you were doing it for the benefit of your whole group instead of trying to minimize your individual effort. You cared about them, enough to work at making them successful. I’ve never seen you like that before. So why aren’t you going back to there?” 

“I… I like Shiemi,” Renzo said, fidgeting and staring at the floor. “Two Hell Kings came to my rescue because she’d care if I got hurt.”

“So?” Bon replied. “Sounds like another good reason to get yourself back to Delphi.”

“People who care about me die,” Renzo said.

“First off, your family cares about you too, even if your Dad’s been showing it by acting like a moron lately,” Bon said. 

“He’s not my dad.”

Bon frowned in confusion but pushed on. “Second, Shiemi-chan took out an army, seriously, she took out an entire army, including a True Cross Exorcist unit, in about sixty seconds. And Gaia just annexed part of the Spirit kingdom, so she’s probably less weak against aerial attacks now. The True Cross thinks it would take the Paladin and all four Archknights to go up against her and they would rather negotiate than fight. I don’t think you need to worry too much about Shiemi’s safety, she could probably kick all of our butts,” Bon paused and grinned, “Collectively.” 

Renzo snickered at that. Then he sighed. “Okay you got a point, I shouldn’t worry about anything but making Shiemi mad. But my parents aren’t my parents. I kicked myself out of my family only they’re a lot less happy about it than I thought they’d be, even though it turns out that I’m just a stupid mistake Take made when he was younger than I am now. I think if I don’t let Juuzo drag me back to Kyoto now, I’ll never get up the nerve to go back again.”

“Can’t argue with that can I? You do know you’ll always have a home with the Myodha right? Still, don’t stay away from Shiemi ‘cause you’re scared.” Renzo glared at him for that. Bon smirked, “You are aren’t you? Come home with Juuzo and I, see what you need to see: we’re still your family, we’ll always be your family. Once you’ve gotten that through your thick skull, go back to Shiemi and a cause you actually give a damn about.”

* * *

A number of junior Exoricsts waited to make their reports in the hallway outside the office Shima Yaozo had commandeered. Inside Izumo sat primly to the right of Yaozo’s desk while Dr. Hsu leaned against the opposite wall as the Taiwanese contingent’s representative and because Yaozo didn’t like the man being out of his sight just in case he tried going after Renzo again. 

“The tourists are leaving as quickly as we can clear them for travel,” a slight Myo’Dhari Aria reported. “Without their addiction holding them here they’re eager to return to their homes and the lives they abandoned. Most are quite bitter at being taken in by the false paradise created by the Illuminati, Shimane’s days as a tourist destination are likely over.”

Izumo nodded serenely. “Our roots are agricultural. With Gaia’s restoration of the land I see nothing preventing us from returning to that way of life. What have you learned of the people brought in by the Illuminati to staff their front?”

The girl waited for a nod from Yaozo before addressing Izumo’s question. “They were mostly dupes with a few of the Illuminati’s lowest ranking members seeded in. Those who were sworn to the Illuminati are being transferred to a remote True Cross outpost in Siberia where they won’t cause any more problems. The ones who were ignorant of what was going on here are being released. They may try to resume their businesses but without the constant influx of tourists most will move on in a year or two.”

“Even though they weren’t aware of the Illuminati’s plans they might find their future prospects limited,” Yaozo remarked. “For five years they were involved, abet unknowingly, in a scheme where tourists were lured in, addicted to keep them docile prisoners in a gilded cage and then systematically murdered. Naturally we’ll hide the part where they were used in experiments which turned roughly one thousand of the victims into regenerating zombies... But the death tolls over those five years are much too high to hide. Anyone even tangentially involved will have a stigma attached to them.”

“The area’s farm families provided the bulk of the temple’s supporters before the Illuminati came,” Izumo said. “Those same families are the ones who survived the occupation. They respect the old ways, they’ll listen to me as the temple Miko, I’ll see to it that the locals accept their ignorance and innocence. We’ll absorb them into the population. We have no need of a tourist industry, but we will need something of a town to support the farms. From what I’ve been told, the original inhabitants of the city are all dead.”

“As fascinating as Shimane’s internal politics may be I’m more concerned with Gedoin’s successes,” Dr. Hsu complained. 

“Explain again why he’s not locked up?” Izumo asked. “Preferably with a couple of zombies for company.”

“According to Gedoin’s notes seventy-three of his subjects were modified to become Demon-Eaters. Todo Saburota successfully consumed the Myodha pheonix. Shima Renzo consumed his familiar-”

“Actually Sir Pheles examined Ren and determined that he and Yamantaka merged,” Yaozo interjected firmly. “Gedoin was mistaken, or possibly inflating reports of his successful experiments.”

Hsu sneered at that but dropped the subject of Shima Renzo. “The Illuminati who attempted to consume the Impure Princess was unable to contain the demon’s power and perished. Gedoin’s notes record twelve other cases where a Demon-Eater died upon attempting to consume a demon, his hypothesis was the demon-eater lacked natural compatibility with their target. Of the Illuminati subjects every Tamer was successful in consuming a demon from the kingdom where their natural affinity lay, also all cases where Lucifer personally suggested a target demon where successful. Gedoin himself was killed before he could attempt to consume a demon.” Hsu paused to stare at Izumo for a moment.

The young Miko grimaced at the reminder: Gedoin’s heart beating in her hand, the taste of his blood in her mouth. A quiet relief that he’d never be able to hurt her or the people she cared about again and small niggle of guilt that she didn’t actually feel bad about killing him. Human, Gedoin might have been, but Izumo had never met a more repulsive monster in all her life.

Hsu turned to Yaozo, “Todo and seven other Demon-Eaters have taken demonic powers. Thirty-two more potentially successful demon-eaters exist. If what you say about your son is true we don’t know if they also share a demon’s weaknesses. 

Izumo frowned as she tallied the numbers in her head. “What about the other nineteen?” she asked.

Hsu shrugged. “They were Gedoin’s test subjects rather than Illuminati members, apparently they were killed as soon as the experiment was deemed successful. The forty unaccounted for were all high-ranked Illuminati, Lucifer’s chosen ones who underwent the procedure only after most of the bugs had been worked out. It would be naive to assume we’ve heard the last of them, even if Lucifer is gone. Or to assume that the ability to create Demon-Eaters was lost with Gedoin.”

* * *

Rin, Bon and Konekomaru stared row after row of mismatched coffins, the lid of each one bore freshly carved, arcane symbols that turned the coffins into satis chambers to transport the regenerating zombies to Delphi for treatment. “You three will be responsible for getting the zombies into the coffins,” Chen-long informed them. “I have a team stationed outside of the holding area who will destroy any zombies that escape. But I don’t see any reason to risk my people in this pollyanna endeavor.”

“We’re fine with that,” Bon replied. “Just make sure your guys stay out of our way.”

“There is a cargo plane scheduled to arrive in the morning,” Chen-long said as he walked away. “Make sure you’re finished by then. I will be gracious enough to lend aid in loading the plane.” 

Once the Taiwanese exorcist was gone Bon turned to his two friends. “So what do you think?” he asked.

“One zombie at a time,” Konekomaru said promptly.

“Have you guys ever watched Westerns on TV?” Rin asked hesitantly. 

Thirty minutes later Konekomaru used an Aria’s barrier to create a ‘cattle chute’ leading from the containment area holding the zombies, Rin stood at the end of the chute as bait, an open coffin lay just behind him, while Bon anxiously stood by waiting his turn. 

When the door opened the zombies began mindlessly shambling toward Rin. They pushed and shoved at each other until gradually the chute forced them into single file. A quick chant from Bon slammed a barrier down behind the first zombie. While the remaining zombiess collided with Bon’s behind the barrier the first one in the chute continued shambling toward Rin on it’s own. 

Rin waited until it was right on top of him then muscled the zombie into the waiting casket and slammed the lid down. He tugged the full coffin over near the exit and pulled another empty into place. “Ready for the next one,” he told Bon.

Hours later Konekomaru and Bon were hoarse from chanting and Rin was dripping with sweat and smeared with decomposition from the zombies but the containment area was empty and three hundred and twenty-one caskets, the Zombies that hadn’t been destroyed during the battle against the Illuminati, were ready and waiting to be transported to Delphi. 

As they headed to the public bath Rin turned to Bon. “You’re sure you can’t come to Delphi with us?” he asked.

“There’s not much I can do to help with the zombies and I can’t neglect Council business for the month or two you’re expecting to be gone.” Bon grinned and reached over to ruffle Rin’s hair, “I’ll stick to political meetings and classes until you get back, promise.”

“You better,” Rin replied.

“It also helps us to avoid giving the Vatican any notions about Bon developing too close of ties to Delphi,” Konekomaru added. “They wouldn’t like that.”

“Right,” Bon agreed. “I already know what I need to about Shiemi, plus Mamushi’s there. If I decide the Myodha should break ties with the True Cross and ally with Gaia I’d rather catch the Grigori by surprise than have them take preemptive action to keep me from doing it. ‘Course Mephisto’s plans include the True Cross, I’ve got the feeling that if they don’t toe the line willingly they might start feeling their strings being pulled.”

* * *

Izumo caught up with Rin as he left the bath house. 

“Come home with me tonight?” she asked.

Rin nodded his eyes a bit wide, a faint flush crept up his neck. Izumo felt an answering blush at the realization that he’d guessed at least a bit of what she intended. She took his hand as they climbed up the hill to her childhood home.

“I’m going to stay in Shimane for a while,” Izumo said after several minutes of walking together in silence. “I’ve neglected my responsibilities here for too long.”

“You’ll be back at the Academy for the Exorcist Exam won’t you?” Rin asked. “Konekomaru and I are going to be Delphi for a while, dealing with the zombies, but I have to be back for the Exorcist Exam.”

Izumo nodded. “I’ll be there. Maybe I could get Mephisto to set up a permanent door to the Academy for me like he did for Suguro.”

“If he says no, I could try whining at him like Amaimon does when he wants candy,” Rin offered. He shrugged, “I guess it’s a younger brother thing, even if Yukio never did it.” 

A fleeting smile crossed Izumo’s face, “It’s a younger sibling thing,” she confirmed. “Tsukumo used to do it to me.” For a moment she looked sad. “I hope Tsukumo’s happy where ever she is.” She sighed, “For now I don’t really have any choice but to trust that Yoshida-san got her to safety after all.” 

“I wish I knew how to help you find her,” Rin said.

“Maybe after I’m a ranked Exorcist I’ll be able to do something. The True Cross probably had someone monitoring Illuminati activity even back then. They might have a lead on what became of Tsukumo, but they won’t share with an Exwire.”

“You could still ask,” Rin said in a faintly reproving tone. “We know the Illuminati don’t have her, so there’s nothing stopping you from asking for help.”

Reflexively Izumo started to protest then realized that even if the True Cross refused her she’d be no worse off than she was now. It went against everything her past had taught her to ask for help, but it wouldn’t hurt her. In spite of that, Izumo was still trying to think of a good reason not to ask ten minutes later when they reached her house.

As Izumo fumbled with the key, Rin looked everywhere except at her. When the door swung open Izumo took a moment to scan the house for glowing eyes or the sound of sharp claws skittering on hardwood then she breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped to the side to allow Rin in, it seemed like the fox spirits had taken her seriously when she told them she’d skin anyone who tried spying on her tonight.

For a moment she hesitated glancing between the couch and the door to her bedroom. The couch would be much less serious, but she’d made plans and Izumo was stubborn enough that she hated backing down even if she would be the only one to ever know. Still... Tamamo had flirted freely, always seeking affirmation that she was cute, desirable, but at the end of the day there was only man she’d ever given herself to. Izumo had always been afraid that if she left her heart open she’d lose it to someone as worthless as her father and, like her mother, that she’d be unable to take it back. ‘But this isn’t some guy, it’s Rin,’ Izumo reminded herself. ‘I want this, I want to move our relationship to the next stage,’ she thought as she led Rin to her bedroom. 

Rin, having already started toward the couch, stumbled a little when Izumo tugged him in the opposite direction. “Are you sure?” he asked nervously glancing back at the couch. “It’s your room, in your house. It’s not like the dorm.” There was no roommate who might come in at any moment, no chaperones living downstairs, no voyeuristic demon brothers hanging around, for once he couldn’t even sense the faintest trace of Izumo’s familiars. No one expecting them anywhere soon. No reason to stop except, maybe, because stopping would be the right thing to do. 

Izumo stretching up on her tip-toes, hands braced on Rin’s chest. She silenced his concerns by pressing her mouth to his. The remnants of ancient wildness began rising up in her, sweeping away any uncertainty. Rin was hers, her chosen mate. She kissed him fiercely, tangling her hands in the hair at the nape of Rin’s neck.

Rin’s hands slid down her back to lift her off her feet. As her legs wrapped around his waist he pressed her against the doorjamb, freeing a hand to brush across her cheek, pushing her bangs out of her face. Izumo slid her hands down Rin’s shoulders and started working on shirt buttons, his and hers both. “Condoms by the bed,” she murmured trusting Rin’s demonic hearing to catch what she couldn’t bring herself to say above a whisper.

Rin froze, Izumo felt more than saw him shake his head. “Wanna do things right, marry you first.”

Izumo growled in frustration. “I know you’re not like my father, I don’t need to bind you to trust you. The only use I’d have for a marriage oath would be to take you away from Suguro.” Izumo grimaced, “And if I did that I’d be no better than him.”

“Marriage isn’t supposed to be something you use,” Rin protested. “It’s a promise you make ‘cause you’re both sure you want to be together forever.” Rin’s face colored down to his collarbone. “And until you are sure you shouldn’t go too far.”

“Maybe if you’re both human and get to change your mind about ‘til death do us part’.” Izumo said. “If we promise that it will be true, one way or another.”

“So we just have to be sure,” Rin said stubbornly. “I’m not going anywhere. I can wait until you are.”

“You don’t get it,” Izumo exclaimed. “With Inari riding me, my promises are demon oaths. My mother never got my father to marry her, but he must have promised something. Promised enough that when he tried to leave her she killed him and everyone she saw as keeping him from being true to her. Uke and Mike intervened when she turned on Tsukumo and I; they didn’t judge us to be rightful targets.”

“Being a Miko, demon oaths are different for me,” Izumo said. She squirmed free of Rin to pace across the room. “You are you. Demon-blood, human-blood it’s all and only you. As a Miko I take a part of Inari into me. The part of Inari that was inhabiting my mom that day said we deserved to die for betraying her, but the larger part that wasn’t contained by my mother empowered Uke and Mike to keep her from overstepping the limits of what she was promised.”

Rin followed Izumo cautiously. “Did you ever think maybe half-assed promises were the problem?” he asked. “Him promising something and thinking it’s nothing much so it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t really mean it? But that was all your Mom had to hang on to so they mattered to her. Izumo-chan, promises aren’t bad as long as you mean them.”

Izumo stopped moving away and let Rin pull her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist. After a few moments Izumo rested her hands over his and let herself lean into him.

“I want to do things right with you,” Rin said. “If the marriage oath doesn’t say what you mean we can always change it. But the forever part? I want that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izumo/Rin physical intimacy is challenging to write. I mean, I’ve got a character with tsudere leanings as the driving force in the relationship, that’s just unnatural . Beyond that they’re both blushing virgins who don’t really know what their doing and they both have issues in their background with regards to sex. Izumo’s mom and by association Izumo and her little sister were ostracized because her mom was having an affair with an inappropriate man. Then the guy tried to leave her mom and she ate him. Rin’s mom was burned at the stake because of who Yuri’s lover was. Also Rin is conscious of the double standard with regards to being sexually active: Guys gain status by sleeping around, girls lose status by not being virgins. The last thing Rin wants to do is hurt Izumo. On top of that Rin has his parentage issues, so if having sex is bad for a girl, having sex with the son of Satan must be really bad. Finally, with Rin being raised by Catholic priests, I figure he’s been taught that sex before marriage is a no-no.


	31. Friends and Siblings

Renzo was having second thoughts about going home from the moment the train pulled up to the station but sandwiched between Juuzo and Kinzo it wasn’t as if he could act on them, even if Bon might have let him get away with it. Emphasis on ‘might’. So Renzo swallowed his doubts and stepped on the train.

And was practically knocked off his feet when Tsuzo attacked him with a massive hug. “Ren! I would have been here sooner!” she exclaimed. Then she backed off, holding him at arm’s length. “That wasn’t too rough? Did I hurt you?” 

“Thanks to Shiemi, Rin-kun and Yamantaka I’m all healed up,” Renzo told her. 

“Glad you’re okay,” Paku said, she patted Renzo on the shoulder. Then moved over to talk to Bon. “Father Nagatomo told us what happened. He even managed to get my folks on the phone despite all the upheaval so I know they’re okay but I needed to see them with my own two eyes.”

“You told me your family had been in the area for generations,” Bon said, trying to be reassuring. “Not the type Fox Alley was targeting. Everyone in the district was somewhat exposed to the contaminant, but the processing used with the tourist-trap food was what really turned it addictive.”

Paku nodded, “Yeah, well I’ve probably been eating the diluted form of that crap through most of middle school.” She shrugged. “I never really noticed anything different after I left for school, but Tsuzo-san and Father Nagatomo both thought it would be prudent if I got checked for traces of the contaminant. I get to see Mom and Dad this way, so I didn’t put up an argument. How’s Izumo-chan doing?”

“She hates me,” Bon replied. “She got a little banged up, but she’s tough. Has a fit if anyone except Rin tries to take care of her. Renzo’s dad is staying until she manages to get a Temple Advisory set up to help her manage exorcist stuff in Shimane.”

“And to make sure the area comes under True Cross control?” Paku said shrewdly. 

Bon grinned sharply. “Too late for that. Kamiki threw in with Gaia and the Earth King. The True Cross will have to content themselves with good relations. I told Shima-san that the Myodha want ties apart from whatever the official relations with the True Cross end up as.” He grimaced. “I may not like Kamiki, but I respect her.” He flushed, then mumbled “and I gotta share people with her anyway.”

Paku tsked at him. Bon shrugged, it was true. 

“Train’s about to leave,” Paku said hopping off. “Really glad you’re okay!” she shouted to Renzo from the station platform.

While the train would fill up as they approached Kyoto, for the moment the four Shimas and Bon had one end of car all to themselves. Tsuzo sat Renzo down in the seat beside her and brushed his hair back from his temples to get a clear look at his horns. Renzo wrinkled his nose at the odd feel of someone touching his horns, they were more like bone or nails than skin, there were no nerve endings but he was aware of the sensation of pressure translated to his skull.

“He’s alright,” Juuzo assured her softly. “A little different, mostly because Ren’s been lying to us since forever, but we’re not going to lose him.”

Renzo’s mouth twisted unhappily at Juuzo’s statement but he let it pass without comment.

* * *

A farmer looked up from his ox-drawn plow as a heavy, mechanical whooping broke the stillness of the morning. A flight of six helicopters, each with a pallet of coffins swinging beneath, flew overhead on their way to Delphi. 

Rin and Konekomaru sat in the back of the lead helicopter, they leaned against one another and stared blankly ahead. It had been more than a day since they’d left Kyoto in the loud, poorly heated, cargo plane that had been supplied for transporting the zombies. They’d started with a quick hop from the small airport in Shimane to the international airport in Tokyo. From Tokyo it had been an interminable twelve hours to Atlanta where they hadn’t even been allowed off the plan before they were back in the air for another few hours before landing in New York. In New York they’d been allowed a few short minutes to stretch their legs and restock on food before taking off for another twelve hour flight to Athens. In Greece the two boys had helped transfer the coffins from the cargo plane to helicopters loaned to them by the military for the final leg of their journey. As they approached Delphi the only thing either Rin or Konekomaru wanted was the opportunity to crash. 

Shiemi and Neuhaus met the helicopters in the stadium where the helicopters descended until their cargo touched ground then quickly released the cables. “We’ll drop a little lower,” the pilot told the two Exwires, “But you’re going to have to jump. My orders are zero contact with the ground inside of Gaia’s borders.”

“This is okay,” Rin replied. “Thanks for the ride.”

Konekomaru stared queasily at the ground far below. “Rin, I can’t jump that far,” he protested. “I’d break my legs landing... if I was lucky.” 

Rin’s eyes glittered with amusement. “Angel could do it easy,” he teased.

“I’m not a knight-candidate much less the Knight-adept or the Paladin,” Konekomaru protested, choosing not to point out that Rin’s demon-blood had more to do with his ability to make the jump than his training.

“Piggy-back?” Rin offered. Once Konekomaru was securely on his back Rin threw himself out of the hovering aircraft. As they landed his bent his knees to absorb the impact rather than denting the ground.

Neuhaus raised an eyebrow, “Well, at least one of you has the energy to help us haul these things,” he said.

“And it’s not me,” Konekomaru replied.

“Um, I guess…” Rin sighed.

“Oh, go get some sleep,” Neuhaus huffed. “I forget I didn’t have a sense of humor when you knew me.”

Shiemi stared up at the helicopter, waiting. After a moment it rose up and flew back toward Athens. “Isn’t Renzo-kun with you?” she asked tremulously. 

“Juuzo dragged him back to Kyoto so the rest of his family can see he’s alive,” Konekomaru said. “I’m sure he’ll be along as soon as his family is done chastising him.” 

“Oh… Of course,” Shiemi replied. After a moment she pasted on a bright smile. “It really was terribly selfish of me to take him away from them in the first place.”

Rin took Shiemi’s elbow and steered her away from the commotion around unloading the coffins. “Renzo wanted you to look after this for him,” he said, reaching behind his neck... 

_They’d just finished loading the coffins on the cargo plane in Shimane. Renzo grabbed Rin and asked casually, “Could you give Shiemi something for me?”_

_“Sure,” Rin replied._

_“Thanks,” Renzo unfastened the locket he wore around his neck and dropped it in Rin’s hand._

_Rin’s mouth gaped open. Renzo turned and started walking away. After a moment Rin ran after him, he yanked Renzo to a stop and tried to return the locket. “This is your heart!” he hissed when Renzo refused to take it back. “You can’t give that away!”_

_“Why not?” Renzo asked. “Guys give girls their hearts all the time.”_

_“Not literally!”_

_“It’ll be a lot safer with Shiemi in Delphi than with me in Kyoto,” Renzo rationalized. “The Myodha try to minimize the True Cross’ power in their territory, but technically the Myodha answer to them.” Then he raised his hand and a ball of black flame formed in his palm, “What I can draw with my heart sealed is what Yamantaka usually loaned me anyway, I’m comfortable that I’m in control of this amount of his power... Besides, a locket will look better on Shiemi than on me anyway.”_

Shiemi gasped as Rin placed the locket in her hand. “This is-” 

Rin nodded, “He thought it would be safest with you.” 

Shiemi quickly put the locket on and tucked it under her shirt. 

The thought: ‘Well, Renzo will appreciate the location,’ briefly crossed Rin’s mind. 

* * *

A moment after Renzo stepped off the bus in front of the True Cross’ Kyoto branch office he was yanked off his feet by a horse-sized salamander and dragged to the door of a small, pink play-house.

Renzo elbowed the salamander in the snout. “Let go sulphur-breath!” he commanded, a flicker of black fire danced in his eyes. The salamander immediately backed-off, head and body lowered submissively. Renzo turned to the play-house and planted his fists on his hips. “Yumi! Since when do you sic your familiar on me?” he demanded.

Renzo’s ten-year-old sister crawled out of her play-house and scowled up at him unrepentantly. “Since you go away forever and ever!” she exclaimed. “You didn’t even come back with Bon and Koneko-nisan. Don’t you like us anymore?”

“Who could dislike you, squirt?” Renzo disassembled. The truth was he’d never stopped to consider how his baby-sister would interpret his rebellion against family expectations. 

He stopped for a moment then decided it was way too weird to try to think of his baby-sister as the aunt she actually was. “I was mad at Dad and Mom. And Shiemi-chan, she’s a really good friend of mine, not to mention pretty, needed help, so I went. I didn’t mean any slight to you.”

Yumi mulled it over for a moment then jumped up to give Renzo a crushing hug. “I’ll forgive you,” she said magnanimously, “If you promise to never do it again.” 

“I’ll never sneak off to Rio to help blow up a secret, mad-scientist lab ever again,” Renzo swore solemnly.

“You blew-up a mad-scientist lab? Like James Bond?” Yumi asked, eyes wide. 

Renzo grinned and started telling her a heavily edited, kid-friendly version of his adventures.

* * *

Konekomaru was woken from a sound sleep when Angel hauled a protesting Rin out of bed at the crack of dawn. “I’m certain you haven’t maintained your forms without me hounding you,” Angel informed the boy haughtily.

“Do you have any idea how long I was on a plane? I don’t even know it it’s today or yesterday!” Rin grumbled. “I think I deserve a lie-in!”

“The faster you get back on a schedule the sooner you’ll get over jetlag,” Angel replied unsympathetically. “If you’re not dressed in ten minutes, you can do your forms in your boxers for all of Delphi to see.”

Rin blew a raspberry at Angel’s retreating back, but he quickly scrambled into his clothes. Konekomaru decided that Angel was probably right about getting back on a schedule, besides he was too awake now to try to get more sleep anyway, and got dressed as well. 

While they’d been in Japan negotiations in Delphi had advanced to the point where the Archknights had agreed to be put up in the small buildings down hill from the main complex, inside Gaia’s hedge. Very significant progress, in Konekomaru’s opinion, given that the knights hadn’t been willing to get near the hedge before they left, fearing an ambush. That they’d actually moved their camp into Gaia’s territory meant that they had a high degree of certainty that the negotiations would be successful. They were just beating out the details now, the possibility of war, of armageddon, had been averted.

Angel was waiting for Rin right outside the door. Konekomaru trailed along behind as the Paladin led his student to a small courtyard and glared critically as Rin began his forms. After a few minutes of watching Angel pick an every minor imperfection in Rin’s movements Konekomaru was repressing a grin. Lightning sauntered by and grabbed a seat on a ledge near Konekomaru. “He’s checking that Rin’s not injured,” Konekomaru whispered. 

Lightning tilted his hat to one side and flashed Konekomaru an amused look. “He’s terrible about showing that he worries,” the archknight agreed.

Satisfied with Rin’s performance, and the evidence it provided about his well-being, Angel allowed his student to call the exercise complete. “I’ve received a full report on your performance in Shimane,” he told Rin. “You did well, both in completing your mission and in how you handled yourself.” The paladin glanced over to where Konekomaru was sitting. “You all did.” 

“Translation,” Lightning said softly, “We’re very glad someone in your group was ruthless enough to get the mission done and get you all out basically in one piece… and we’re even more glad that it wasn’t Rin-kun.”

“Bon and Kamiki-san aren’t so happy with me,” Konekomaru replied, hoping he was keeping his voice down enough to escape Rin’s demonic hearing.

Lightning studied the young Exwire for a moment. “You guys are still busy, we’ll get out of your hair,” he called to Angel then steered Konekomaru away. “They don’t like that you used Rin’s abilities like they were a weapon,” the archknight deduced. “Of course, if we want to keep him alive that’s exactly what we need to demonstrate for the Grigori.” Lightning spread his hands helplessly. “It’s not pretty, but there it is. The only reason the Grigori didn’t kill him out of hand last summer was because Sir Pheles sold them on the idea of having Satan’s flames as a weapon at their disposal.”

Konekomaru nodded, but his eyes were shadowed.

“From our perspective the mission in Shimane couldn’t have gone better,” Lightning continued. “Rin-kun balked at killing something viscerally unrecognizable as human, simply because he was told that they were human. You, not Suguro-kun who holds his oath, were able to target and trigger his powers… to devastating and precise effect. Shimane showed us a powerful, clean weapon, user-friendly and with good safeties. That’s what we need the Grigori to see if we want to keep Rin-kun alive.”

“Bon and Kamiki-san are right: Rin deserves better than to be treated as a weapon,” Konekomaru said in a low voice. “And several hundred zombies, who we might have saved, were killed because of what I made Rin do.” 

“For a moment I want you to forget all the second guessing you’ve done since then,” Lightning said. “What were you thinking in that moment?”

Konekomaru pursed his lips together, “If I’d been able to come up with a better plan-” 

“No, what were you thinking then? Right at that moment.”

“That we’d all die if Rin didn’t kill them.”

“Chances are you were right,” Lightning said. “And even if there was a better way, something that could have stopped the zombies without harming them… Well, when you’re on the spot sometimes there isn’t time to come up with the ideal solution. You prep ahead as much as you can, go into battle with all sorts of contingencies, but sometimes the shit still hits the fan and you do what you have to. You took care of priorities and once that was done you did your best to minimize casualties.”

“Thanks,” Konekomaru said looking away.

Lightning chuckled, “But you don’t believe me. Because, you made a decision that your friends, that Suguro Ryuji doesn’t agree with, and you feel like crap. Let me tell you something kid: You’d be worthless to Suguro as an advisor if you and he agreed all the time. If the two of you thought alike the only thing you’d be able to tell him is his own mind and only an insecure moron needs that.”

“Bon doesn’t seem to agree,” Konekomaru muttered.

“Well, you did go over his head,” Lightning said bluntly. “That should happen… next to never. That way when it _does_ happen, he knows it was _only_ because it was flatly impossible for you to seek his agreement first. If you don’t trust him to listen to you and if he can’t trust you to come to him with your thoughts, well, you’re not acting as his advisor then are you?”

“So, learn to disagree constructively?” Konekomaru said. “Is this experience speaking?”

Lightning smiled, “To tell the truth, your Suguro is a bit more opinionated than my Arthur, but you probably won’t have to talk him out of listening to pompous lunatics just because they’ve got a fancy sounding title.”

Konekomaru snorted, “The problem with Bon is he doesn’t listen to anyone very well. He thinks being our leader means having all the answers himself.”

“You’ll have to teach him better.”

* * *

Renzo came downstairs to dinner the second night after returning to Kyoto and stopped dead. “Gou-ni,” he said. “Why aren’t you in Canada?”

“Why do you think?” the twenty-three year-old asked gruffly. “I got a plane ticket home as soon as Juuzo told us you’d been kidnapped. Even Mom’s coming home to see with her own eyes that you’re okay.” His gaze strayed to Renzo’s pointed ears and the tips of horns that showed through his hair. “Okay-ish,” he amended.

“Mom’s coming!” Renzo exclaimed in a panic and most of his siblings snickered. “I talked to her on the phone, told her everything was fine now.”

“Well no one’s really inclined to believe you,” Gouzo snapped. Yumi flinched at the bite in his voice. “What I gather from Juu is that you haven’t been okay for a long time, but you’re a good enough liar that none of us noticed. Where the hell did you get the idea that we didn’t care about you? We’re all involved in dangerous profession! You never once told anyone that you didn’t want to be an Exorcist.” 

“Don’t speak for me,” Juuzo said but Gouzo and Renzo ignored him.

Renzo’s chin came up stubbornly. “How many Shima in the last two hundred YEARS haven’t been Exorcists?” he spat. “One! And he was born blind. So yeah, I really had the option of telling Dad that I didn’t want to follow the family tradition and I didn’t feel particularly honored when I got nominated to die for Bon.”

Gouzo shook his head, anger overriding the hurt that had been in his voice before, “I’m guessing none of this would have happened if you’d talked to your family instead of listening to that thing.”

“Yamantaka, his name was Yamantaka!” Renzo shouted back, black flames leaping up around him. “And why would I talk to you? You guys joined the True Cross! Did you ever even look at their history? Everywhere they spread they make a point of demonizing the local gods and spirits.”

“Look at yourself Ren,” Gouzo growled. “Did it ever occur to you that the True Cross is right not to trust anything from Gehenna?”

“Enough you two.” Juuzo said stepping between the pair, familiar with the signs an impending physical altercation between his younger brothers.

“Swearing to Lucifer was a mistake, I’ll grant you that,” Renzo replied, his eyes flat and hard. “But I got out alive, and that I credit to Yamantaka, Moriyama Shiemi and Mesphisto Pheles. If the _humans_ in True Cross had their way I wouldn’t have stayed that way!” Renzo spun on his heel and stomped back up to his bedroom and locked the door. 

“Are we sure it’s Renzo and not Yamantaka wearing his skin?” Gouzo asked Juuzo.

“Gou, that is more than enough,” Juuzo replied. “Yes we’re sure it’s Renzo, and he’s mourning Yamantaka. So layoff.”

Tsuzo followed Renzo upstairs and knocked on his door, Renzo ignored her. Juuzo tried a bit later and was also ignored. Yumi tried to climb through his window and learned that he’d put a barrier around the room to supplement the locks on the door. Once it became clear that Renzo was going to skip dinner rather than leave his room, Gouzo tried apologizing to the door. That didn’t work either. 

When night fell Kinzo took a seat leaning back against the wall on the other side of the hall from the locked door and started rhythmically kicking the door. Twenty minutes later he was still at it. 

“Cut it out Kin! I don’t wanna talk to anyone!” Renzo shouted after forty minutes. 

"Yeah, you've made that clear but it's my room too and I want to go to bed," Kinzo replied not breaking his rhythm.

“Tell Gou to go back to the True Cross if he likes them so much. Then you can have his bed,” Renzo said.

“Juu snores and you know it,” Kinzo objected cheerfully. 

That got a snort of laughter.

“Come on, open up. It’s my room too and I’m not even the one you’re mad at.”

The lock on the door clicked open. Kinzo wasted no time getting on the other side of it. He grabbed Renzo around the neck and ruffled his hair roughly. “Moron! Cut it out!” Renzo shouted.

Kinzo let go and plopped back on his bed. “That’s better, brothers are supposed to fight about stupid stuff, not…”

“Gou’s a jerk,” Renzo said. “Does it even occur to him I’m a demon now? And the bastard that tortured me was totally human.”

“He’s just mad that we didn’t know you were in trouble,” Kinzo sighed. “Sometimes it feels like we don’t know anything about you.”

Renzo flinched. He turned away from Kinzo and started digging through his drawers, taking an inordinately long time to find his night clothes. “It’s all so messed up,” he said finally. “Mom and Dad lying to me, me lying to everyone. I wanted to hide that I didn’t belong but it just made me hate everything. I was so sick of being a piss-poor replacement for sainted Take-” Renzo broke off, his face going pale. 

Worriedly Kinzo reached for him and Renzo flinched away from him. Cautiously Kinzo settled back and waited without saying anything.

“‘M sorry,” Renzo muttered. “I shouldn’t feel like this. It’s not Take’s fault all I remember is paragon I couldn’t possibly compare to, not a person who cared about me.”

“I’m just messed up, ignore me,” Renzo pled. “I’m fine, everything’s healed up but then I think my shoulders should hurt and they do. The old nightmares are back, except now I’m hanging in that damned lab while the bugs eat me and I rot. And there’s no Yamantaka to pull me out of them, so when I finally wake up on own it hits me that I got him killed all over again.” Renzo buried his face against his knees, trying to stifle the sobs that wanted to escape him.

Slowly Kinzo crouched beside Renzo and pulled him into a hug. At first he ignored the horn-bud pressing into the underside of his jaw, but then his eyes lit up with a realization. “I know I sleep like the dead,” Kinzo said. “But I’m a pretty good Aria. I bet your nightmares make your demon-energy spike, I can set an alarm to wake us both up when you’re having a nightmare… I’ll make you hot chocolate or something.” 

Renzo didn’t answer, but the tension left his body and he let himself slump bonelessly against Kinzo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the cannon archknights have been introduced, I might try to work them in under other titles once they start doing stuff. They seem more like advisors to the Grigori where my bunch are Angel’s team. It should be possible to make them co-exist. I’ve been reluctant to actually have Renzo’s mom show up in my story, I’ve probably gone too far in my own direction to work her proper role in once she turns up in the books, but I’m still avoiding her for the moment. :shrugs:


	32. Making Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, on reflection, having every other member of Renzo’s family react but not his mother is a bit off and there’s probably no chance of making her align with the cannon character should she does make an appearance anyway....

Rin shivered a bit when Gaia stepped out of the Tholos, it was Shiemi’s body but just from how she moved he knew it wasn’t Shiemi. He was glad that it would only be a few hours before the two of them traded back. 

As Gaia walked out to greet the supplicants Amaimon fell in at her left shoulder and Egyn at her right. Behind her back the two Hell Kings exchanged hostile glances. “There will be no audiences today,” Gaia announced. “The True Cross has requested the aid of myself and the Fire Prince Okumura Rin to heal a number of unfortunates, the victims of an unscrupulous group calling themselves the Illuminati, servants of the now banished King of Hell, Lucifer.” With that Gaia walked regally down the steps of the Tholos, Amaimon and Egyn followed her, the crowd parted before her. Rin and Konekomaru fell in behind as the party passed them. They walked down the road to Delphi proper, then up the hill to the Stadium behind the city. 

Neuhaus and Echidna were already there, sorting through the coffins. “We think that bunch are beyond help,” Neuhaus said and pointed to a number of coffins that had been dragged off to one side. 

Gaia held her hand over one of the coffins. “Yes,” she agreed. “The souls have abandoned the bodies.” 

Konekomaru’s face fell as he asked, “We can’t save them?”

“Not those ones,” Neuhaus replied. “They’re too far gone, their brains have rotted away to mush. They’re nothing more than an ambulatory appetite for human-flesh. The rest, we’ve got something to work with.”

“Then lets get busy,” Rin said. “Before any more of them can’t be saved.”

“The satis spells will keep that from happening, but point made,” Neuhaus said. “Crying over what can’t be done serves no one.” He pointed Rin toward another group of coffins. “That bunch are in the best shape, might as well start with them. Don’t want to anyone getting discouraged right from the start.”

Rin reached for the first coffin. “You can open it and use whatever abilities you have to examine the zombie, but as soon as a change is induced from the outside the statis spell will break,” Neuhaus warned. Rin nodded, he unsheathed Kurikara and planted it point first in the ground near to hand. Wreathed in flames he opened the coffin and, with a look of intense concentration, he reached for the zombie’s hand. When their hands touched the flames spread, devouring necrosis and the parasitic demons infesting the zombie. 

For a moment after Rin withdrew the former zombie could only stare around him with shock, then awareness crashed down on him. The former zombie wailed, agony and despair filling his voice. Gaia crouched in front of him. “Let the Earth extend her bounty, sleep and heal.” She dug her fingers into the soil and vegetation grew up around the former zombie, lifting him out of the coffin and enfolding him in a cocoon of leaves.

The work of exorcising the zombies and beginning their healing was grueling and thankless. As Rin’s flames cleansed them of the parasitic demons each and every one of the former zombies reacted with horror as the realized what had been done to them. When Gaia’s time grew short there was a row of cocoons holding the healing victims. 

“It will be several weeks before they’re healed,” she told the others. “Or as healed as I can make them. There are limits to what the human body can repair while still remaining human and my agreements with the True Cross preclude recreating their bodies as golems. When they awaken they will require extensive rehabilitation. In the worst cases, perhaps the True Cross will amend their agreements once they have seen what is left of these poor souls.”

* * *

The morning following his fight with Gouzo, Renzo woke up to find Juuzo sitting on the end of his bed. “Kin let me in,” the older boy said.

“The traitor,” Renzo growled. 

Juuzo shrugged, “I gave him the choice of sparring with me as a knight or with Tsu as a tamer if he opened the door.”

“No bets on which one he picked,” Renzo sighed. “Yumi sicced Hinote on me the moment I got off the bus.”

“I saw,” Juuzo said. “I also heard…” He sighed. “You know, the thing with being compared to Take, it probably started with me doing it to myself. He was my cool big brother, then he was gone and I was supposed to be the family heir in his place. I was terrified of not living up to his memory… But then, I was a lot older than you when he died and I remember him hiding in the bushes behind the temple, dripping with curry, because Mom was going to kill him for starting a massive food fight, I’ve been trying to live up to a person, not a legend.”

Curiosity made Renzo perk up and take note. “Take, the Take you guys always talk about, started a food fight?” he asked.

“In the middle of the old Head Priest, Ossama’s father, droning on about maintaining faith in our traditions,” Juuzo elaborated. “And probably not by coincidence. Those rants were the old man’s way of taking pot shots at Ossama. They fought, a lot. And them being the head priest and his heir meant we all got dragged into it, Take was squarely and loudly on Ossama’s side.”

“So Take was…” Renzo asked

“Opinionated and he hated anyone who was just talk,” Juuzo replied. “The Blue Night might of cemented it, but we were already starting to get a reputation as a cursed temple. The Myodha Plague had always been, but there was a big jump in its virulence when I was seven or eight. People in Kyoto started noticing and talking about it and about us. Ossama thought we could fight the reputation by getting more involved in the community, and maybe turn to modern medicine to try to combat some of the symptoms of the Plague. His old man wouldn’t hear anything about it, blamed straying from tradition for the worsening of the Plague. I might of been just a kid back then, but even I knew who the old man held accountable for the shift away from tradition.”

“Back then, if you were Myo’o Dhari it meant you went to school at the temple. From day one, exorcism was taught right alongside reading and writing. Seriously, I can remember learning to read from religious primers. That was just how things were, but Take applied for High School at a school down in Kyoto. He managed to hide it until the day he didn’t show up for classes and instead of finding him playing hookie, Dad finds him attending his new school, acting on Ossama’s idea that we ought to be more integrated.”

“And what then?” Renzo prompted, fascinated.

“Mom and Dad told him so long as he kept up his duties as an Exorcist-candidate he could do it,” Juuzo replied. “They supported Ossama too, even if they were too quiet about it to impress Take. Take made it work, he even managed to be fairly active at his new school, joined the kendo club because they didn’t have staff-fighting as an option. He was athletically gifted, like you. Used to drive Tsu and I crazy, Take put in half the work we did and consistently beat us even when we tried double-teaming him. He took up kendo and within a month he had seat on the varsity team.” Juuzo looked thoughtful for a moment. “I thought he had a girlfriend on the team… Hell, that must have been your mom.”

Renzo blinked. “My… mom?” With the shock of finding out his older brother was actually his father, he’d never gotten around to thinking about who his mother might be. 

“I never met her,” Juuzo said apologetically. “Back then Take was into making waves, but he wasn’t suicidal or maybe he just like the girl enough not to drag her into our politics. Getting caught dating an outsider when the old Head Priest was on the warpath over Ossama eloping with Torako-san would have been crazy. Now that I think about it, it’s probably why he went along with Mom and Dad claiming you as theirs. I mean, he was always trying to be the one to take care of you, but he hid that you were his. Take was really, vocally, Ossama’s disciple. Him getting an outsider girl pregnant? The old man would have had a field day. He was already saying Ossama eloping showed that all his talk about integration was just self-serving nonsense and calling him a bad influence. The old man probably would have excommunicated Take or something. I mean he was ticked that he couldn’t disown Ossama, what with him being his only son.”

“You make the old head priest sound like some sort of despot,” Renzo commented.

Juuzo grimaced, “I know Bon admires his Grandfather, but frankly, he never met the man. The old Head Priest was strong, but it was a cruel, unbending kind of strong. When Torako-san starting showing Plague symptom, while she was pregnant with the man’s own grandchild there wasn’t an ounce of sympathy in him. He just told Ossama that he should have married someone stronger.” Juuzo smirked. “Then Fujimoto Shiro comes along, Ossama ignores tradition and turns an outsider loose on the Plague and Fujimoto cures it. Being proved wrong probably broke the old man, he died a few months later in the Blue Night.”

“Mom came home from Rome with you about a week after that,” Juuzo continued. “I don’t know if it was the Blue Night or you, but Take grew-up a lot then. He went from being this loud mouthed kid to one of the people everyone counted on to keep the temple going. That’s the Take everyone remembers and talks about, not the brat he’d been a year earlier.” 

Renzo looked thoughtful.

“The way Take step up after the Blue Night was awesome,” Juuzo said frankly. “I’m terrified that I won’t be able to follow his example if I’m ever called on to deal with something like that, but he was also my crazy big brother. Take was four years older than Tsu, and you know Tsu, Gou, Kin and I are practically as close in age as you can get without multiple births. Before the Blue Night we were Take’s little horde of minions. He entertained us when we were sick… by telling stories that gave us nightmares for years afterwards. He kept us out of his big gestures, the stuff that made the old Head Priest loathe the sight of him, but I don’t think a week went by that we didn’t get at least a scolding for something Take had suggested we try.” 

Renzo grinned at that.

“Take was really smart and a natural athlete… so he could get away without studying or practicing much and I don’t know how he functioned on the amount of sleep he got. When things were bad those traits made him invaluable,” Juuzo concluded. “When things weren’t so bad, it meant he had way more time to get into trouble than anyone needs. We loved him for the stupid stunts as much as for the heroics and I wish we’d thought to share all our memories with you instead of the filtered version.”

* * *

On the outskirts of Delphi Konekomaru stared up at the roof of the small room he shared with Rin, not sleeping. The sound of Rin shifting suggested that Konekomaru might not be the only one still awake. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

“What for?” Rin asked as he rolled onto one elbow to peer through the gloom.

“This is horrible,” Konekomaru sighed. “We’ve gone through so much effort and most of the zombies are going to die anyway. Or they’ll wish they were dead when Gaia can’t heal them all the way. I should have just kept my mouth shut.”

“We’re saving some of them,” Rin disagreed. “And the ones that are too hurt, we’ll get Lightning to bring Angel around to letting Gaia turn ‘em into golems like Michelle-san.” Rin grinned a little, “We just won’t mention anything to the Grigori ‘til it’s a done deal. Angel makes much better decisions when he doesn’t have those old fossils telling him how to think.”

“You’re really okay with turning them into demons?” Konekomaru asked, surprised.

“Not demons, golems,” Rin corrected. “What that freak Gedoin did hurt their bodies not their souls, so we need new bodies to put them in. Adam was made of clay, it’s not like it hasn’t worked out before.” Quietly, thoughtfully, he added, “Renzo’s the same guy he always was, being turned into a demon didn’t make him a worse person.”

For several minutes the two boys listened to the sounds nocturnal insects. Then Konekomaru asked, “We’re okay?”

Rin bit his lip and didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t like being yanked around,” he said finally. “I know I’m not as smart as you but you could try to explain instead of figuring out ways of forcing me to go along.”

“It wasn’t that!” Konekomaru exclaimed, sitting up. For a moment he met Rin’s eyes, willing the other boy to believe him. Then Konekomaru’s gaze dropped. “You’re idealistic, I didn’t think you’d agree to a plan that saved some people, us, by killing others.”

“You think I could’ve stood by and let my friends be hurt?” Rin asked. He pulled his knees up to his chest. “If I hadn’t been freaking about Bon getting hurt, if I’d known there was a chance to save them, I might’ve just burned the parasites… Don’t know if that would have been better or worse than this.”

“I don’t know either,” Konekomaru said. “Maybe it only would have been a few hours before the True Cross could have placed them under a stasis spell.”

“I guess, I’m okay with what you did,” Rin said. “But knowing you did it thinking I wouldn’t agree to it, I’m not okay with that.”

Konekomaru hunched his shoulders.

Rin sighed. “Remember what Mephisto did to beat Astaroth?” he asked. Absently he flexed his hands, the memory of having knives shoved through his wrists, pinning him down and Shiratori’s glee at the thought of torturing him coming back with painful clarity. “I’m okay with what happened, with what Mephisto set-up.”

Konekomaru shuddered at his own memories of that day. 

“I really am okay with it,” Rin asserted. He shrugged, “I’m not cutout for coming up with plans. My goal’s to take Satan out and when I asked to join the True Cross I pretty much gave Mephisto permission to use me for that. Getting rid of Astaroth was a step toward that goal. I don’t like other people getting caught up in the middle but… What Shiratori did to that puppy, what Astaroth’s probably doing to Shiratori still, that’s on them. Mephisto’s good at manipulating people into doing things that help his plans but it’s still them making the choices.”

“And in Shimane?” Konekomaru asked.

“Those people who got turned into zombies, it’s not your fault or mine what the Illuminati did to them. We put a stop to it as soon as we could and we’re saving the ones we can. There’s no point in us beating ourselves up over the ones we couldn’t help.”

Konekomaru chuckled ruefully, “Better to spend the energy beating up any remnants of the Illuminati? That’s more pragmatic than I expected from you.”

“I used to spend all my times picking fights with bullies so they wouldn’t focus on people who couldn’t defend themselves, and getting in trouble for it,” Rin said. “I know about picking your losses.”

Rin stared at Konekomaru as he chewed on his lower lip for a moment “You and I, we want to protect Bon.” He hesitated, “I guess I don’t know if you want to beat Satan or if that’s just Bon. Anyway, you know it’s my goal. It’s okay to use me for those things, you don’t have to explain it ahead of time or feel guilty about it if I get banged up in the process. I’m not cut-out for making plans but I am good at being the frontline. Gotta get some use outta demon healing right?”

“No,” Konekomaru disagreed.

Rin shrugged, “Knights take hits so the rest of you can do your parts, that’s our role. I heal faster than Angel and I’ve never gotten hurt on a mission with him where he wasn’t hurt at least as bad as I was.”

“But-” Rin’s voice dropped into a lower register. “Don’t try to use me against Izumo again. Even if she won’t let me make it formal I’m hers, she’s mine. I won’t betray her… Even if she could have handled things better.”

* * *

Gouzo stopped half-way down the stairs and watched Renzo digging through the refrigerator. It had been almost a week since they’d fought and in Gouzo’s opinion his little brother was unnaturally good at avoiding someone who was living in the same house. He was going to have to return to his posting soon and didn’t want to leave things in a mess between them. Quietly Gouzo crept downstairs. Once he was in the kitchen and Renzo couldn’t make a graceful exit, he let himself bump into the table as he sat down, the scraping of the legs announcing his presence. Renzo stiffened, Gouzo caught him subtly stealing a glance over his shoulder. “In case you really didn’t hear through the door, I’m sorry about the other day,” Gouzo said. “I was out of line.”

Renzo considered leaving but it felt too much like letting Gouzo chase him off. He dropped his left-overs on the table and sat down without acknowledging Gouzo’s apology. 

“Juu explained that Yamantaka was oath bound to protect you. That he was trying to help, not deliberately hiding your problems from us,” Gouzo continued. “Juu says it wasn’t his goal to distance you from your family, he was just taking care of you as best he could.”

“He did a GREAT job of looking after me when none of you could be bothered to,” Renzo snapped, unable to ignore Gouzo any longer.

“Because of him none of us knew there was anything wrong!” Gouzo protested, “Mom and Dad had four other kids and Take dying shattered all of us. And you seemed fine, even though you were alway Take’s uncontested favorite. You came along and he never time for the rest of us anymore, but you were the least broken-up by his death.”

Renzo’s eyes widened in surprise at the realization that Take’s younger siblings might have been jealous of the attention Take paid him.

“Mom and Dad told us that getting kidnapped messed up your memory, that we couldn’t blame you for forgetting Take. They told us you were four and you just weren’t old enough to understand death so you didn’t hurt like the rest of us did. If Yamantaka hadn’t gotten involved, if we’d known you were grieving too. We could have included you instead of trying to keep you ignorant and happy.”

“I wasn’t grieving like you guys were,” Renzo replied coldly. “I didn’t manage to get back my memories of that day until this year. All I know about Takezo, all I’ll ever know, is what you guys tell me. For most of my life that day has been stuck in my head as this distorted nightmare that I never understood.”

Gouzo’s look of bewildered incomprehension infuriated Renzo. He shoved away from the table angrily. “You were all so absorbed with Take’s death, none of you ever thought about what happened to me! I wasn’t grieving because my older brother, my DAD died! I was waking up in a cold sweat from dreams I could only remember as a morbid muddle. I’d see a bug and I’d think about how it wanted to crawl inside me and lay it’s eggs so it’s babies could feed on me and I didn’t know why.” Renzo gave Gouzo a rictus grin. “Now I know. Now I remember the whole thing. I remember the demon dragging me underground. I remember it’s venom paralyzing me. I remember it whispering in my ear about how it’d keep me alive and helpless as long as possible, days, weeks maybe, while the insects colonized my living body, how I’d be aware the whole damn time ‘cause the demon-insects would feed on my fear and pain as much as they fed on my flesh. I remember, consciously, because I never really forgot, the insects crawling in my mouth and nose, down my throat, digging their mandibles into me to make their nests.” Renzo took a deep breath. “I remember Yamantaka killing the demon, but the bugs crawling around inside me were still there. He changed me, like he always does his tamer, so I could channel his fire. Then he killed all the bugs, but the black fire doesn’t burn matter from the material plane. The demon’s venom kept working for hours. I was aware but unable to do anything the whole time the Myo’o Dhari doctors were flushing the insect carcasses out of my body.”

“I didn’t-” Gouzo broke off, his voice thick with shock and horror. “I knew you’d been kidnapped but-”

“But you were twelve, Gou. And Kin was nine,” a new voice interjected. “Even Juu was only fourteen.”

Renzo and Gouzo jumped and turned toward the back door. “Mom!?” Renzo exclaimed.

“We told your siblings that you’d been kidnapped by the demon that killed Take, that you’d lost your memories of Take because of that, but you’d get better,” Shima Sakura continued. “They needed to know that much, they didn’t need the gory details. Ren, we hoped you didn’t know any more than that.”

“How’d you convince yourself of that?” Renzo snapped.

Sakura regarded him calmly. “You said it yourself: Until this year you didn’t remember.”

“Nothing I could make sense of, but I remembered,” Renzo argued.

“You were unresponsive when the doctors started treating you. On top of everything else your skull was fractured in two different places. We had reason to hope that you might have been unconscious for the worst of it or that you’d suffer at least a little short-term memory loss,” Sakura said. “After you recovered you were withdrawn, we always suspected that you didn’t remember us or much of anything from before the attack. Your likes and dislikes shifted. You got angry at even the mildest attempts to test your memory: you threw a fit when we asked you to identify your siblings from their pictures. But you hit all the normal developmental milestones for a four-year-old. After an initial rough patch you, Ryuji and Konekomaru went back to being thick as thieves. You were reserved with Yaozo and I, maybe that should have worried us, but you’d always been closer to Take and we didn’t think to consider what might have replaced him in your life.” 

Renzo’s eyes narrowed. “Who,” he corrected. “Yamantaka is a WHO, not a WHAT.”

“As you like,” Sakura replied. “We didn’t press you to recover your memories. You were making new memories with us and with your friends. You were four when Take died, it was inevitable that your memories of him would be overshadowed by what you were told about him. And tell me true Ren, what good has it done you to remember the attack?”

“At least I finally know why you resent me so much,” Renzo said. “Your son died because of me.”

Sakura gave him a frustrated look. “Where do I even start with what’s wrong with that statement?” she asked the heavens. “Take did not die because of you. Ultimately it was the demon who attacked you who caused his death. Second I do not resent you and neither does your father.”

Renzo snorted in disbelief.

Sakura’s eyes narrowed. “Do I wish Take hadn’t gotten a girl pregnant when he was still a kid? Of course. Do I wish I didn’t have you as one of my children? Never. You might as well ask if I resent Yumi; she was just as unexpected and in order to keep her I had to resort to using a demon surrogate. With you all I had to do was make sure your birth mother didn’t listen to her parents. That was no challenge at all, if she’d been in the habit of listening to her parents she never would have been with Take in the first place.”

* * *

Renzo left the house feeling off-balance. For years he’d believed his family wished Takezo had survived instead of him. Finding out that he was Take’s illegitimate son instead of his youngest brother had seemed like a good explanation for what he’d always believed and it didn’t hurt half as much as thinking that Take was simply more important to his family than he was. But his parents both refused to admit it, everyone seemed shocked and confused that he felt that he was expendable to them. ‘They said they didn’t but can I really believe them?’ Renzo wondered. ‘Although...’ 

Juuzo had come for him even after everyone should have known he’d betrayed them. Renzo grimaced, he hadn’t gone through with it. Almost too late, he’d changed his mind about the Illuminati, but changing his mind at in the eleventh hour didn’t mean he hadn’t betrayed the Myodha and his family. And Juuzo came anyway, with his f- grandfather’s backing and approval. A part of Renzo wanted to accept that as proof that he’d been wrong, that they cared. They weren’t even forgiving him for his betrayal, just pretending it had never happened. But Renzo had been angry for so long, had chosen to listen to Todo and the Illuminati because he was angry. It was hard to accept that he might have been wrong about how his family felt about him when he’d made so many of his choices based on that belief.

Still, Renzo loathed the Grigori for their unbending belief in their own rightness. If he wouldn’t question his beliefs how was he any better? If he couldn’t admit he might have been mistaken about his family’s feelings, then what was the point of coming home? What was the point of confronting them with how he’d felt if he wasn’t willing to consider their responses. 

Renzo climbed up the mountain past the old temple. Behind it there were a cluster of huge boulders that formed a crude maze. Without a thought to where he was going, Renzo entered the tangle of broken stone.

Back when he’d been a kid Renzo wanted his family to notice his nightmares and fears the way that Yamantaka had. As he got older and began doubting what he was taught as an Exorcist he hid his doubts for fear of rejection, but he’d still wanted them to see past his masks, defy his expectations and accept him even if he wasn’t who they’d wanted him to be. Even if no one was acknowledging it, Renzo knew his decision to join the Illuminati had to have shown his family that he wasn’t the person they thought he was, the person they expected him to be. 

Renzo had been tortured, nearly destroyed for his act of rebellion. To save him Bon, Juuzo and Konekomaru, all of whom were more important than him by the Myo’o Dhari’s standards, had put themselves in life-threatening peril. He’d gotten Yamantaka killed saving him, which Renzo couldn’t forgive even if no one else cared. He’d lost his humanity, the worst crime by an exorcist’s lights although Renzo himself didn’t give a damn, in spite of that his family hadn’t left him to his fate. They weren’t throwing him away. He wasn’t sure that they weren’t in denial about what the whole debacle showed about who he really was, but it was a pretty strong indication that they cared. 

Renzo’s feet navigated the maze without hesitation, eventually he emerged in a small secluded cul de sac. When he’d been younger, it had been one of the places he’d gone to talk with Yamantaka, someplace private, away from his family and friends’ eyes. Finding himself unexpectedly back at one of his and Yamantaka’s spots without Yamantaka, Renzo’s throat closed up. As tears welled up Renzo’s shoulders slumped. He’d be fine and then something would hit him the wrong way, remind him and his grief would return. As time went on the moments were becoming less frequent but no less strong. 

After a time Renzo became aware that he wasn’t alone. “Are you well, Child of the Black Flame?” Ucchusma asked. 

“Child of the Black Flame,” Renzo repeated, tasting the words.

“Among demons true names have power,” Ucchusma explained. “To use yours for something so trivial would be rude.”

“I know, I was taught manners,” Renzo said. It occurred to him that, thanks to Yamantaka, he was well versed in Gehennan customs and politics. He knew what to be wary of as a demon. In almost every way he was more prepared than Rin for what he’d become, even though Rin was the one who had been born with demonic blood. 

Renzo understood all about the civil war brewing in the Flame Kingdom. Despite the role Ucchusma was arranging for Rin to play in the war, most likely with Mephisto’s enthusiastic approval, Renzo doubted Rin would know anything about it until after the inevitable confrontation with Iblis. Renzo smiled to himself as he remembered the feel of Rin’s power surrounding him. He didn’t have any intention of upsetting Ucchusma and Mephisto’s schemes because he certainly wouldn’t mind if they succeeded. 

Without a thought, he’d reassured his little sister was a promise so specific as to be utterly powerless. Renzo remembered that, even as he’d given Yumi his word, he’d been thinking ‘On the off chance another mad-scientist set-ups their operation in Rio, I can still go. I just had to be sure not to blow-up the lab… and there are plenty of other means of destruction out there.’ As he grown up Yamantaka had taught him to think about his promises like that, to consider exactly what he was promising and to look for loopholes even as he made the promise. If nothing else, the simple act of looking for loopholes minimized the emotional weight of the promise. 

Renzo called a small flame into being on the tip of his finger, absently he set it to dancing from fingertip to fingertip. Long ago Yamantaka had allowed him to channel the black flames and trained him in their use. He could cloak himself in flames for intimidation or coat his spear in such a thin wreath of blackness as to be as subtle and invisible as poison. Having all of Yamantaka’s power flowing through his veins and the knowledge of what that meant had been overwhelming but once Mephisto sealed his heart control had come naturally.

“You were well taught,” Ucchusma remarked as he watched Renzo play with the flame.

Renzo nodded, he had been well taught and well cared for, by Yamantaka more so than his family. If his family had realized the degree to which they’d been supplanted they would done something. If they’d seen he would have closer relationship with his family but at the cost of the relationship he’d had with Yamantaka. He wouldn’t have been allowed both. Renzo sighed. Maybe they should have noticed, but he wouldn’t have given up Yamantaka for them. And he couldn’t really blame them for not accepting the person he’d grown into when he’d never give them the chance.

Now that they knew they seemed interested in getting to know him. When he’d thought he was going to die he’d regretted not letting them see him. He hadn’t died, now was his chance to start over with them… And if it didn’t work out? Well, he’d never planned on staying in Kyoto anyway.

* * *

Rin straightened his True Cross jacket and, along with Konekomaru, followed Angel and the arc knights into the Stoa of the Athenians where three polished tables had been arranged in a loose triangle. Angel and Lightning took a seat at one of the tables while the other three arc knights and the exwires pulled up chairs behind them. 

Gaia sat at one of the other two tables. She was dressed in a shear toga that Rin was certain Shiemi would be mortified to be seen in, vines twined around her waist and through her hair. Igor Neuhaus sat beside her, while Amaimon, Echidna and Michelle completed her entourage. Renzo’s place, at her right shoulder, had been left pointedly empty although his locket was visible around her neck.

A number of men in dark, conservative suits sat at the third table looking uncomfortable. The man who sat in the central position leaned over and whispered to his advisor in Greek, “Do you really expect me to take this seriously?”

“We’ve seen too many examples of her power to do otherwise, Mr. President,” the other man replied, equally quietly. Amaimon smirked, neither their whispers nor the use of Greek preventing his eavesdropping.

Wang Zi produced a sheaf of papers and placed them at Angel’s elbow. The Paladin nodded to him, then moved the documents to the center of the table. His hands lightly resting on the treaty he stood and addressed the assembly. “It has been the Vatican’s honor and pleasure to negotiate a peaceful accord between the Lady Gaia and the Greek Government,” he declared. “I will present the terms:”

“The current boundaries of the Lady Gaia’s territory will neither expand nor shrink. The government of Greece will recognize the territory within these borders as a sovereign nation. 

“This agreement does not preclude the Lady Gaia from forming pacts of mutual defense with other gehennans or humans against the demon known as Satan and those sworn to his cause. Assiah is the domain of humans, but in opposition to Satan or to rectify damage done by him or his minions, the Lady Gaia may send her powers to any land where her aid has been requested by locally recognized human representatives. Nor does the agreement preclude the Lady Gaia from extending sanctuary to any gehennan who foreswears allegiance to Satan.”

“This is nonsense,” the Greek president muttered. His advisor shrugged, “It costs us nothing and the True Cross insisted upon it.”

Angel ignored their exchange. “In reparation for the loss of Greek lands, the Lady Gaia will give the Greek government the following agricultural goods annually.” Rin tuned out as Angel droned on for several minutes listing crops, quantities and scheduled payments. “Any goods produced in excess of the agreement the Lady Gaia is free to trade as she wills with the world. To that end the government of Greece will in no way impede access to the Lady Gaia’s harbors on either the Aegean Sea or the Gulf of Corinth ”

“A corridor will be opened through the Lady Gaia’s territory providing land access between the northern and southern regions of Central Greece. The Lady Gaia will allow Greece full and complete control over the corridor.”

Amaimon stepped forward. “Paladin of the True Cross, there’s a tunnel large enough for one of your human highways passing under my mother’s lands. That will provide them access between their northern and southern lands, without giving them an invasion route into our territory.”

Angel nodded, “That is satisfactory. In that vein, air-space above the Lady Gaia’s territory is restricted to high-altitude planes unless specific access is granted. Due to the difficulties traveling through the Lady Gaia’s territory and her inability to leave without violating the terms of the treaty via increasing her territory, it is expected that the Lady Gaia will allow helicopter traffic for diplomatic missions.” 

Angel was silent for several moments then he asked, ”Are all agreed to these terms?” 

“I was also promised the return of my knight,” Gaia said with a frown.

“He was rescued from the Illuminati and is currently recuperating with his family,” Angel replied.

“The Myo’o Dhari are sworn to the True Cross,” Gaia objected. “And my knight has already suffered at the True Cross’ hands.”

“A rogue agent, whose actions were not sanctioned by any official power in the True Cross,” Angel said.

“Yes, I understand perfectly,” Gaia’s lips drew back in a sneer. “And so I ask for you personal guarantee, Paladin, that my knight will suffer no further harm from members of your organization, officially sanctioned or not. I also charge you with ensuring that he is free to return once he has renewed ties with his family.” 

“You assume he wishes to return,” Angel remarked. 

Gaia touched the locket at her throat. “He sent his heart here. What else should I assume? That he does not feel safe with his family?” 

Angel glanced back at Lightning questioningly. The shorter man shrugged, “Ya know, it’s Sally’s kid she’s talking about,” he said softly.

“I will see that Shima Renzo is treated appropriately,” Angel said stiffly.

Gaia gave him an icy look, “And I will take it up with you if your definition of appropriate varies from my own.” At that Konekomaru and Rin looked worriedly between Gaia and Angel.

“As the question of your knight has become a personal matter between you and I, shall we continue with the business we are gathered here today for?” Angel asked, unfazed by Gaia’s implied threat. 

The Greek president nodded, “We agree to the terms,” he said perfunctorily, garnering scowls from many members of the True Cross and Delphi parties. 

Lightning gave a world weary sigh as he stood up and sauntered over to the Greek delegation's table. He slouched, resting his hip on a corner of the table. Leaning toward the President he said, “Call ‘em demons or gods, gehennans take promises very seriously: They kill oath-breakers, eat their souls.” 

The President jerked back, his bodyguards took a step forward glaring warningly at Lightning.

The arc knight put up his hands placatingly. “Just a friendly warning,” he said. “But you should know, the True Cross calls on demons to witness and enforce contracts regularly. Because demons sense broken oaths and tend to be merciless in hunting down the perpetrators. There are demons out there who want nothing more than an excuse to take your soul and they like nothing better than enforcing other people’s contracts. Promising to punish oath-breakers is a risk-free deal from their perspective. Other demons are more greedy, they make deals with hidden catches just hoping some poor, unsuspecting fool’ll take ‘em up on it. ‘Course if you’ve read your fairytales you know sometimes it’s the demon who ends up the fool. But you’ve always got to remember that humans like the stories where they win, even if the opposite is more common.” 

Lightning spread his hands, indicating the whole gathering. “Now this? It’s a business deal. Neither you nor Gaia wants to go to war. So she gets some land and you get a nice reimbursement for the loss of it, pretty basic, no strings to trip anyone up intended. But you gotta take it seriously. You look over there and see a schoolgirl playing dress-up. And yet, I assure you that she is in fact, the very same Gaia your ancestors worshiped as their creator, as old as the ground beneath your feet. So, lets try again and make like you mean it.”

“The first rule of oaths: Use full names and titles when stating who agrees to what. Take responsibility for what you promise. Second, I hope your advisor warned you that you’ll be signing that treaty in your own blood...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rumpelstiltskin is an odd story. The miller is rewarded for his attention seeking lies by becoming the father of a queen. The king is reward for his greed with three rooms of gold. The miller’s daughter is a bit of an innocent victim trapped between her father’s lies and the king’s greed, but she still makes a promise she never intended to keep. She doesn’t lose her child and becomes a queen, but she’s married to a guy who threatened to kill her if she couldn’t spin straw into gold. And Rumpelstiltskin is the bad guy for providing the miller’s daughter with more of an escape-clause than the king or her father did.


	33. December

Rin stepped off the boarding ramp into the Tokyo International Airport Terminal. Strings of multi-colored lights were hung from the rafters and wrapped around the columns. Christmas trees and wreaths lined the terminal walls. Rin hurried through the crowd, with Konekomaru struggling to keep up in his wake. 

Bon met them at the baggage carousel. “How was trip?”

Rin grunted noncommittally, his eyes glued to the carousel. 

“The amenities on a commercial flight are much better than the cargo plane we took out, but they made Rin check Kurikara,” Konekomaru explained.

“You couldn’t just gate home?” Bon asked.

“Angel and the arc knights were to report to the Grigori and the High Council as soon as they returned to Rome.” Konekomaru replied. “Lightning thought it would be better if Rin weren’t there when they explained about Gaia gaining nearly a hundred new golem.”

A long narrow bundle appeared on the baggage return and Rin leapt on it. He sighed with relief once his sword was slung across his back again.

“How is Renzo doing?” Konekomaru asked.

“He’s still fighting with his family a lot,” Bon replied uneasily. “But it’s healthy, I think. Like lancing a boil, ugly process but it stops the festering. I’m getting the idea that Renzo’s been angry for a long time.”

“They’re getting a bit anxious about him in Delphi,” Konekomaru remarked.

Rin glanced around as if seeing the airport for the first time. His eyes widened at the Christmas decorations. “It’s December!” he exclaimed.

“Dealing with the zombies and getting the treaty finalized took time,” Konekomaru replied.

“The Exorcist Exam is only a month away!”

“The arc knights made sure we didn’t fall behind in our studies,” Konekomaru assured Rin. “You’ll do fine.” 

Seeing that Bon was also starting to look worried, Konekomaru said. “He’s probably better for all the one-on-one tutoring. Adepts Lightning and Durov are excellent teachers. And Adept Wang is patient about getting Rin through his recitation sections.”

* * *

Yaozo swayed tiredly with the motion of the taxi, the final leg of his journey. He was eager to get home but at the same time, worried about what he was leaving behind in Shimane. ‘Politics are exhausting,’ he thought to himself. 

On the surface, things couldn’t have been going more smoothly in Shimane. The Illuminati had vanished with the defeat of their leader. Lucifer had been exiled from Gehenna and that news alone was enough to spark celebrations in Rome. A dark expression crossed Yaozo’s face, Dr. Hsu had been caught in the act of overstepping his official bounds and had lost whatever backing he had in Rome. The Grigori didn’t really give a damn if the Myo’o Dhari or their Taiwanese branch assumed power in Shimane as long as the district came under True Cross control and Cheng-Long Liu had never been that invested in expanding his branch’s territory into Japan, even though he’d technically been the ranking exorcist among the Taiwanese contingent. They’d packed up and returned home almost a month ago. 

The Grigori was happy to assume that Kamiki Izumo was young, inexperienced and relieved to turn over power to someone older and wiser. Yaozo snorted to himself, he wondered if Rome’s observers in Tokyo were all fools. ‘Or perhaps Sir Pheles subverted them as we did ours,’ he thought to himself. Well, the ones worth having in the Myodha anyway, the others had been gotten rid of one way or another. Yaozo himself suspected Kamiki’s co-operation was because it suited her goals to be part of the True Cross, or at least to come under the Myo’o Dhari extension of the True Cross. 

No matter what anyone claimed, Yaozo knew that the last few month’s lengthy conversations between Kamiki and Ryuji had nothing to do with them being school friends. Whatever the exact arrangement the pair had come to, Ryuji, for all his outspoken loathing of secrets and lies, wasn’t sharing with the Myo’o Dhari high council. And the Hojo didn’t care. With Kamiki shifting Inari’s alignment from the Spirit Kingdom to the Earth Kingdom they were too busy lobbying to expand their personal influence into Shimane to remember that Ryuji wasn’t his father.

The Myodha had been founded when Fukaku brought together a number of families in the Kyoto area to oppose the Impure King. The Shima and the Hojo had always been the backbone of the Myodha, they had both been Exorcists long before joining forces under Fukaku’s leadership. Officially the two clans had joined as equals, but with Ucchusma as their most potent weapon by far against the Kingdom of Decay, the Shima with their affinity for Fire, quickly gained preeminence while the Hojo had been shuffled into supporting positions. When Ryuji brought Rin in as his personal retainer the balance hadn’t shifted, but now there was Inari to consider. Powerful in his own right, newly sworn to the Earth Kingdom and thus on good terms with Amaimon where Ucchusma and Iblis were as of yet undeclared enemies, Inari could change things. 

That was the Hojo’s hope anyway, Yaozo worried about the new enemy they might have acquired along with their new allies. Azazel was one of the ancient Hell Kings, a general in Satan’s rebellion against the heavens alongside Lucifer, Beelzebub and Samael and in switching allegiance to the Earth Kingdom Izumo and Inari had scorned him. Azazel’s power was far and beyond Amaimon’s or Iblis’. They might have defeated Lucifer but it wasn’t a success they could count on replicating, Yaozo didn’t know just how many tricks Mephisto Pheles had up his sleeve or when it would suit him to use them.

However, with Shimane apparently setting nicely the Hojo had gotten their way. Hojo Nishiki had taken over managing True Cross operations in Shimane. In part it was to be a test of her readiness for her new role as the Hojo heir and in part she’d been put in charge of Shimane because the Myo’o Dhari high council were hoping Kamiki Izumo would be inclined to bond with another girl who was only a few years her senior. Yaozo put it at even odds that the two of them would end up conspiring together against all comers or trying to kill each other in under a week.

The taxi rolled to a stop in front of Yaozo’s gate, he paid the driver and walked inside.

“Okay, you rolled a four and five, the second hand is closest to seven, that rounds up to a move of three spaces,” Renzo declared. “Which puts you squarely on my Electric Company.” 

“But I have St Charles, States and Virginia which means I get a discount on the Electric Company and Pennsylvania,” Tsuzo replied. “And we’re in the first quarter of the hour so I only pay a forth of what I role.”

“But you’ve been in jail three times so far, so you’re penalized two hundred dollars to the board on top of what you owe Ren,” Juuzo reminded. 

“Just as long as everyone remembers that Yumi and I don’t have to pay anything on our next roll since we refilled the snack bowl and made apple cider for everyone,” Kinzo put in. 

Yaozo chuckled, “How many new house rules for this game?” he asked, loving the sight of his kids goofing around together. 

“Ren-ni hasn’t played since he left for Tokyo last April,” Yumi explained. “He said he’d be at a disadvantage so we rewrote all the rules before the game.” She pouted, “Juu-ni raised the fine for having to check the list of rules to a thousand dollars. And I don’t even want to be an Aria!”

“Memory practice never hurt anyone,” Yaozo told his sulking daughter. “Not even a Tamer-wunderkind.”

“I’ll be going back to Delphi in the morning,” Juuzo reported to his father. “Gaia finally gave Mamushi and I permission to adopt Meda. She’s six and Gaia’s especially careful when placing any of the older kids after what the Facility did to them.”

Yaozo found himself staring at Renzo, noticing anew the small horns and pointed ears largely hidden by his hair. There’d be other people like Hsu, people who would see his child as inhuman and feel no restraint about hurting him. Without thinking about it, Yaozo stepped closer to Renzo, placing a protective hand on his shoulder.

Renzo gave Yaozo a confused look then turned back to Juuzo. “Let me guess, Mamushi loved Meda’s hair.”

“I won’t say it wasn’t a factor,” Juuzo admitted. “But Meda is a really sweet kid, especially considering everything that’s happened to her. After Kermit more or less adopted Neuhaus-san, she started opening up and letting people get to know her.”

“So now that you and Mamushi are going to officially have a daughter, do you have a wedding date set?” Tsuzo asked. 

“We weren’t planning anything formal,” Juuzo mumbled. “She’s not sure how her family feels about her or us. We were just going to go register the next time she was in Kyoto and call it good, or maybe get married in Greece.” 

“You should bring them both home for New Years,” Yumi declared. “I’m an aunt! That must make me all grown-up. I want to meet my niece.”

Renzo choked on a slightly hysterical giggle. 

“My having kids doesn’t make you any less of a brat. And Meda is only a few years younger than you are,” Juuzo pointed out. “But yeah, that’s a good idea.” He turned to his father. “Mom can’t get away again so soon, but Gou is going to come home for Shogatsu this year.”

“I’m going up to Tokyo on the 27th for Rin’s birthday,” Renzo stated challengingly. 

His siblings didn’t say anything. 

“We missed it last year,” Renzo continued less aggressively. “He’d barely woken up from his coma and none of us thought to ask when it was. I might stay a few days.” He hesitated for a moment. “I’ll try to make it home for the New Year,” he offered in a conciliatory tone.

* * *

Bon watched, bemused, while Rin apparently tried to read four books at once. “I think you might get more good out of it concentrating on one subject at a time,” he remarked in a carefully non-judgemental voice.

Rin glanced up, “You’re sure?” he asked. Bon studiously didn’t reply.

At the other end of the lounge Ito was holding a ladder while Suzuki nailed mistletoe over the kitchen door. “There, we’ve got every door leading into the dorm covered. All we have to do now is stake them out and collect our kisses.”

“You should be focused on your studies,” Bon told the younger two Exwires sternly. “Rin’s not the only one who’ll be taking Exorcist Exam in a couple of weeks.”

“You’re just sour because your class lost all your girls,” Suzuki snarked. “Even Paku-chan has been home most of the term.”

Bon rolled his eyes.

The door bagged open and Mephisto swept in. He glanced at the mistletoe and grinned. “Where’s my kiss?” he asked. 

Several of the boys made faces at him.

The headmaster ignored them and wandered across the room to peer over Rin’s shoulder. “Ah, it’s good to see you so focused on your studies, Rin,” he said. “This time last year it seemed you had no will to live at all. I’m delighted at the changes a year has brought.”

“Thanks, um, big brother,” Rin muttered awkwardly.

Mephisto smiled and patted him on the head. As he turned to leave a strip of paper fluttered out of his pocket and fell on the table next to Rin. Yukio’s name caught Rin’s eye, he slid his book over the scrape before anyone else saw it. 

Later that night Rin snuck out of his dorm room and stared at the paper for a long time, it had Yukio’s name and a phone number with too many digits. Rin knew Yukio’s cellphone number by heart, but it hadn’t connected since he’d woken up from his coma to find Yukio gone. Somehow he knew if he added those extra numbers from the paper Mephisto had dropped the call would go through. 

Rin stared at the paper, his cellphone in hand, for almost an hour. Then he slipped back into the dorm room he shared with Bon without dialing.

* * *

On Christmas Eve Nagatomo heard clattering from the kitchen and poked his head in. There was a pot of hot oil on the stove and Rin was rolling pieces of chicken in a flour mixture before dropping them in the oil. “Hey!” he exclaimed happily. “Are you going to have dinner with us?” Without waiting Rin continued. “Bon, Konekomaru and I are eating at the dorm. Godain and Mana-chan are going on a date and so are Ueno and Suzuki. Ito and Maki are still looking for someone to view the Christmas lights with them… I figure they’ll be here for dinner. So how about you and Imai-san?” he finished referring to the younger Exorcist Mephisto had found to replace Shima Tsuzo in the dorm when she requested a leave of absence while her younger brother was recovering.

“Since it smells so good…” Nagatomo replied. “Not that anyone could get a reservation tonight. Are you still planning on coming to Midnight Mass?”

Rin nodded. “It feels weird, being left out of communion and not being able to touch holy water, but I’m going to come.”

“I haven’t able to figure out which Kingdom empowers communion wafers or wine,” Nagatomo said. “Sir Pheles suggested, that since it matters to you, you might just try... Under controlled circumstances with a medical team standing by.”

Rin grimaced. “I’m not entirely sure I want to know. I get holy water hurts me because of Egyn’s rivalry with Iblis. So now that I know I don’t care. It’s not God rejecting me, it’s just collateral damage from a couple of my older brothers fighting. When you can’t figure out where communion gets it’s power from and Mephisto doesn’t say if he knows… I don’t know, maybe I’ll try after the Exam.” 

Rin turned back to his cooking and Nagatomo took that to mean the discussion was closed.

Bon came in several minutes later. He carefully took a seat far from anything cooking related, Rin grinned at him. After the third time Bon checked the clock Rin asked, “Impatient or something?”

“Um, you’re almost done right?” Bon asked.

“Yeah practically,” Rin replied. 

Bon sighed in relief. 

Just as Rin fished the last piece of chicken out of the frier they heard the dorm’s front door open then Izumo’s voice. “Try it and I’ll knock your teeth out, Ito. I swear you’re more of a pervert than Shima at his worst.”

Bon shook his head and headed toward the lobby. He made it through the kitchen door just behind Rin, who’d had nearly twice as far to go and a counter in his way. Izumo, Paku and Yoshikuni stood in the entryway. Izumo was glaring at Ito and Maki while Konekomaru, Godain and Mana tried to look disinterested. Seeing Rin, Izumo forgot Ito and smiled. “Hey,” she said. 

“You’re back early,” Rin replied grinning stupidly. “I thought you weren’t getting here ‘til the second.”

Izumo blushed, “Well there’s Christmas and your birthday. And that Hojo girl isn’t incompetent, quite. Her manners improved after my foxes started threatening to eat her snakes.”

“The eight of us have dinner reservations in an hour,” Bon told Rin. “So you’ve got time to get ready. Maki and Ito can finish dinner, it’s pretty much them who’ll be eating it. Afterwards we can break-up into couples and see the lights and you should still have time to get back for your Mass thing.”

“Get ready?” Rin dragged his gaze away from Izumo who was wearing a casually lavender dress with a heavier indigo coat belted over the top for the cool night air. “Right. I’ll be right back!” he exclaimed and darted up the stairs.

Paku smiled at Bon. “You’re forgiven for the Fall Festival,” she told him.

* * *

Their reservations turned out to be for a cozy back booth in a restaurant a few blocks off campus. The staff smiled fondly at Rin and Bon recognizing them from post-mission dinners with Angel and the arc knights. 

“So where is everyone going to look at the lights?” Paku asked when the Christmas Cake was served.

“I want to see where you-all spend your time,” Yoshikuni said.

“The campus lights?” Konekomaru asked uncertainly. “They’re, well…”

“Obnoxious?” “Tacky?” “Gaudy?” Izumo, Godain and Mana offered one over the other.

“Mephisto-ni’s still upset about what we did to Lucifer,” Rin said. “So he’s pretending really hard that it doesn’t bug him. He went a little overboard.”

“Which is a nice way of saying that going out at night on campus practically makes your eyes bleed,” Bon clarified.

“I still wanna see it,” Yoshikuni insisted.

Konekomaru surrendered with a smile.

The boys split the bill, then the four couples split up at the door. Rin and Izumo meandered through the parks that dotted the town, holding hands and staring up at the lights. As it got later Rin turned their path back toward campus. “Um, do you want to come to Mass with me?” he asked impulsively.

“Alright,” Izumo agreed. 

At the church door Rin edged inside staying as far away from the cristen of holy water as he could. Izumo scowled, ‘Stupid clown,’ she thought. ‘It was one thing when Rin was trying to hurt himself, but Mephisto, of all people, should have known to put a time limit on it. Now all it does is make Rin uncomfortable and remind him of that he’s different.’ 

Izumo resolved to drag Rin home if the rest of the night also ended up making him feel like an outsider. But once the mass started Rin easily fell into the pattern of responses, standing and kneeling without hesitation. He subtly guided Izumo through the ritual, keeping her from looking out of place even though she’d never been to a Christian church service before. Rin smiled as he sung the hymns in a clear, strong, if slightly off-key voice. Izumo relaxed and turned her full attention to learning about something that was a major part of Rin’s background, and something he still cared about despite everything.

When people started lining up for communion, Rin bit his lip and hunched his shoulders. To Izumo, he looked like he was waiting for someone to tell him he shouldn’t be there. But he stayed and Father Nagatomo joined them after the service ended. “Would it be an imposition if I walked home with the two of you?” Nagatomo asked with a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Naw. We had a nice, long, chaperone free, walk earlier,” Rin returned.

Izumo thought Rin might be considering changing his mind when Nagatomo decided to entertain her with embarrassing stories about Rin’s childhood, but she enjoyed hearing them. Nagatomo quietly disappeared as soon as they reached the dorm, leaving Rin and Izumo to say their goodnights alone.

Izumo went to bed, her lips tingling from the quick kiss they’d shared and a warm feeling of acceptance filling her chest.

* * *

Renzo arrived from Kyoto on the afternoon of the 27th along with his older sister. “Happy birthday,” he told Rin handing him a brightly wrapped package as they walked into the old dorm.

Rin flushed. “You didn’t have to. I just got Christmas presents two days ago,” he said.

“So did I. That’s a birthday present, see: balloon wrapping paper, nothing christmasy at all.” Renzo pointed out glibly. “I tend to get them in July, when I was born. But then you were born in December so everything works out.” 

Rin grinned but still looked awkward holding the package. Renzo wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, it’s a great excuse for another party. I was stuck in Kyoto with a bunch of boring people for all the Christmas parties. But all joking aside, we wanted to be sure that you knew we’re all happy you were born.”

“Thanks,” Rin said quietly. He wondered how much of Renzo’s comment was prompted by empathy and hoped that the other boy’s family was doing a good job of letting him know that they were glad he’d been born.

Around dinner, the exwires, Paku, Nagatomo and Tsuzo escorted Rin to the cafeteria where Mephisto met them at the door. With a snap of his fingers the large room was suddenly festooned with banners, balloons and streamers. “Alles Gute zum Geburtstag little brother,” he declared. Behind Mephisto, Rin saw the priests from the Monastery, Angel and the arc knights as well as several members of the Angelic Brigade whom he and Bon had befriended on their various missions over the previous fall and summer. “Shiemi-chan, Amaimon and several others send regrets from Delphi that they were unable to attend,” Mephisto added handing Rin a stack of cards. 

Itamae-san and Tsubaki proudly wheeled a cake through the door a few minutes later. “It is a work of beauty,” Itamae declared. “You’re all to admire it while you eat the rest of your meal.”

“Thanks everyone,” Rin stammered looking around the room at all his friends, shocked to see how many people had come.

* * *

After the party ended Rin slipped up to the roof of the dorm to stare at his cellphone again. Somehow, now that Rin was sure he could get a call through to Yukio, the thought of dialing his twin’s number terrified him. For better than a week he’d been trying to work himself up to it, this time he was determined not to back down. Hands shaking, Rin started dialing. After entering Yukio’s number he added three more digits: Three. Two. One. Rin took a deep breath and hit send. The phone rang several times then, “Rin?” Yukio asked, his voice cracked.

“Happy Birthday, Yukio.” Rin said. “I guess it’s our birthday where you are, I’m not really sure how the timezones work. Oh shit, I didn’t call in the middle of the night or something did I?” Then he realized he was babbling and stopped talking.

For several minutes neither boy said anything. 

“Rin, I, I’m sorry I hurt you,” Yukio said softly.

Rin wanted to say it was okay, that he knew Yukio had meant well. But he couldn’t make the words come. “After- After Dad- I wasn’t okay,” Rin heard himself saying instead. “But I was doing my best. Then, the stuff that I was most scared of- You- you told me- The worst stuff I was thinking- You told me I still didn’t hate myself enough.”

“I’m sorry,” Yukio repeated. “I thought I could keep you safe if I could control you.”

“I know you were trying to protect me,” Rin said. “Mephisto told me.”

“He did?” Yukio sounded surprised. “I thought he’d want you to hate me.”

Rin shrugged even though he knew Yukio couldn’t see him. “I think he knows I won’t, ever. I mean, you’re my little brother… You’re his little brother too, you know.” 

“I’d rather not think about that,” Yukio said flatly.

“I’m pretty sure he let me figure out how to call you,” Rin said. 

“I saw Shiemi-san,” Yukio said. “I suppose that means she was right: You’re better off without me.”

Rin bit his lip. “It sounds sort of bad like that,” he said. “But- Aren’t you glad to be away from me? You were looking forward to the Academy. Going to school somewhere you didn’t have to deal with being the demon-brat’s brother right?”

“I became an exorcist so I could protect you!” Yukio protested. Then he sighed, “You were supposed to be safe with Dad until I got older, more experienced.”

And suddenly Rin felt a rush of anger. “Well, I don’t want your protection anyway,” he declared. “I’m a demon, Yukio, I’m not some helpless little kid.”

“That’s what scares me,” Yukio said. “The Grigori…”

Rin gave a frustrated huff, “I know, I’m not stupid. The Exorcist Exam is next week and they sent a reminder about executing me if I don’t pass again this year. But I’ll deal with it. I don’t need you getting in the middle of things.” His voice hardened. “I don’t need you Yukio. Don’t waste your time worrying about me, ‘cause I don’t need it. I’m the older brother, if anyone’s taking care of anyone it should be me taking care of you. Stop trying to take Dad’s place. I’m okay, I got Bon and Izumo, Mephisto-ni and Angel-”

“Angel! The Paladin!” Yukio cried in shocked disbelief.

“I don’t need you playing parent or caretaker or jailor or whatever it is you think I need,” Rin overrode him. “I just called to tell you happy birthday. You’re still my twin, my little brother. I’ll love you always but I don’t need you. You’re free.” 

Yukio stood in the center of a playground in Rio staring at his disconnected phone until Kit noticed and abandoned his play to run over and tug worriedly on Yukio’s arm. Yukio forced himself to smiled, “I’m fine. It looks like your friend wants you to try the slide. Remember, be gentle, no pushing.” He gave Kit a nudge back toward the other children. 

Once Kit had gone back to playing Yukio whispered forlornly to himself, “Happy birthday Rin.”

* * *

**Omake: Hair Care**

Meda felt disapproving eyes watching her. She turned and saw one of the newcomers, a slight blond woman with a tatoo on her cheek, staring at the snakes crowning her head. Meda’s chin lifted up stubbornly and she glared back. 

Mamushi walked over and stretched out a hand. Meda’s snakes reared back defensively and Mamushi froze. “How long since they’ve molted?” she asked sternly.

Meda’s expression turned puzzled, “The dove says coo, coo. What shall I do?”

“Normally I’d tell you to make sure they had something to rub against, but in your case… May I?” Mamushi asked reaching out again.

Warily Meda nodded. Mamushi picked out one of the snakes and began scratching it firmly under the jaw. In moments the snake’s eyes closed in an expression of bliss. Several of the other snakes began butting at the Naga Tamer’s hand, wanting their turns. “I only have two hands,” Mamushi told them, her voice warming. She settled Meda in her lap. 

Under her expert care the dull, old skin loosen and was sloughed off revealing shining, fresh scales beneath. Mamushi inspected her handiwork from several angles then smiled, “Lovely,” she told Meda. Meda smiled and ducked her head shyly.


	34. Exam Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out Elaine Weasley's wonderful addition to this AU "Midnight Snack" over at ff.net, in which Kinzo makes good on the promise he made Renzo back in ch. 31

The first and second year Exwires stared curiously at one another, wondering why they’d been all been summoned to their classroom over a week before Winter Term was due to start.

“Welcome to a new year!” Mephisto declared appearing at the front of the classroom in a puff of pink smoke. “I’m sure you’re are all wondering why you’re here! In case you’ve forgotten you’re all taking the Exorcist Exam for the first time this year, so I thought I might as well give you a few helpful hints about what to expect… Or maybe I just like seeing your expressions when you hear what you’ve let yourself in for the first time..”

“The Exorcist Exam consists of an eight hour written and four hour oral section testing general competence for all Exwire applicants which will be administered on the third of January, aka tomorrow.” Mephisto smiled evilly at collected Exwires. “I do hope you’ll get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow will be a very long day my little students.” 

“Also! Don’t forget to pack lunches. There will be no breaks during the testing period where you will be allowed to seek out substance. If you can’t come prepared, suffer the consequences. You will be escorted to the restrooms for breaks as needed during the written exam, however excessive requests for bathroom trips will be frowned upon and invites suspicions of cheating. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Anyone caught cheating the Exorcist Exam will be summarily expelled from the Academy and personally I wouldn’t bet on the odds of any of you being skilled enough to cheat and get away with it.” 

“After the general competency testing, candidates will be broken up according to their desired Meister for further testing over the remainder of the week. Watch the schedule if you are signed up for multiple Meisters, it’s on your head to sort out any conflicts before the testing begins. It’s also simple enough to arrange as long as you check ahead of time. Meister tests are practical demonstrations of your skills and quite amusing to watch, better than a DBZ marathon, the schedule is staggered to maximize the opportunities for observation.”

“During the Meister testing you will be joined by ranked exorcists returning to test for additional Meisters.” Mephisto’s smile widened, “You might even find yourself competing against them in the practical exams, particularly those who are testing as Knights. Just remember, even if they have years of experience on you, if they are testing for their Meister they haven’t mastered that particular skill yet… supposedly. Unless of course the proctor decides, for some reason, that it would be better to pair you against an Exorcist who has qualified for your Meister already, then naturally, they’re going to be much more experienced than you… Best of luck!”

* * *

A few hours later Angel ran into Renzo as the younger man was on his way out of the old dorm, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. “You’re not staying for the Exam?” Angel asked in surprised.

Renzo smiled deliberately allowing his fangs to show. “I wouldn’t swear that one plus one is two for the True Cross,” he said in a cheerful voice. “So they can take their test and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. If Rin didn’t have a massive loophole known as Bon I’d be encouraging him to do the same.” Renzo’s smile turned nasty. “I bet your superiors are kicking themselves about now. If they’d shown Rin some trust and kindness he would have promised them anything. They could have bound him up like a marionette if they hadn’t been too fixated on figuring out what the Son of Satan was up to that they couldn’t see Rin. Now that window’s closed, Bon can negate any promises they might trick out of him.” With a parting smirk he slipped past Angel and started down the steps.

“That is your prerogative,” Angel said stiffly. “Although I would have hoped that you’re first alliance, like Okumura’s, would be to Assiah. Still, if you will not ally with the True Cross, will you be returning to Delphi?”

Renzo spun around, “What is with you? Since when do you make small talk with me?” he demanded. “Just because I don’t act all serious and grim don’t mistake me for a forgiving person. You cut my friend’s foot off. I’m not going to forget that, no matter how well you get along with Rin now. I don’t trust you and I never will. You’re too much under the thumb of a bunch of power-hungry hypocrites.”

“And how has your ridiculous exercise in teenage rebellion worked out?” Angel asked sharply. “You’ve lost your humanity, your familiar’s life and very nearly your soul.” 

Renzo’s face turned stark white. 

“Has it ever occurred to you that your elders may have learned from their own mistakes and you’re a fool to repeat them rather than listening to their advice?” Angel stared down at the pink-haired teen disapprovingly, “Although, perhaps I give you too much credit assuming that you’ve learned anything, even from your own mistakes.”

“Oh I’ve learned alright,” Renzo shot back. “I’ve learned that there are even fewer trustworthy people than I previously believed. And I’ve alway been a cynic.”

For several seconds Angel stood at the door watching Renzo stomp away. “How can simply attempting to check in on a person prove so, so aggravating?” Angel muttered to himself. 

Then he turned and walked into the dorm. “Where is Okumura?” he asked the group of first year exwires studying in the main lobby.

“Cramming upstairs. He said we were distracting him,” Maki answered.

“Like he’s got any business passing the Aria sections if other people breathing is too big of a distraction,” Suzuki sniffed.

Godain, Mana and Ito glared at the other boy. “Give him a break,” Godain muttered. “You’re life doesn’t depend on passing this test.”

Angel frowned at Suzuki. “Okumura is a Knight-candidate. While the True Cross requires a degree of well-roundedness from its exorcists, it is not his role to remember verses in battle. He is the one who puts himself in the demon’s path to keep it from killing the Aria while they remember the proper verse.”

“Well I’m a Doctor, not-” Suzuki broke off with a yelp of pain.

Ueno tucked her feet under her chair demurely as if she hadn’t just kicked someone. “I apologize for my classmate Sir Paladin. He has terminal foot-in-mouth disease. I assure you, he isn’t nearly as big a moron as you’d think from talking to him.”

Angel gave her a small nod of acknowledgement then turned back to Suzuki. “You are seeking a secondary meister as a Dragoon, correct?”

“Yes sir,” Suzuki replied trying to discreetly rub his new bruise.

“Many Doctors and Arias do,” Angel remarked. “The idea of having to leaving you personal safety in a teammate’s hands is a frightening one I’m told. But only ten percent of Arias can be effective while also acting as a dragoon. It is all but unheard of for a Doctor to attempt to be anything other than a Doctor while performing their primary duties. The few who can are almost all Tamers who are able to leave their defense in the hands of their familiars.”

Angel stared coldly at Suzuki. “Exorcists who can’t learn teamwork either die young or quickly show themselves to be cowards, succeeding at getting out with their skins intact but failing their missions. I wonder which you will prove to be.” He glanced at Maki, “You said Okumura was upstairs?”

Maki nodded silently.

As Angel continued upstairs to the boy’s floor he heard Rin’s stammering recitation, “Leviticus 2:9, And the priest shall take from the- the meat offering a-a memorial... thereof and shall burn it up the altar. It is a- an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.”

“And you’d use it when?” Bon prompted.

“Um, it strengthens flames,” Rin said uncertainly.

“Against?” 

There was a long silence.

“Against the Kingdom of Water,” Konekomaru sighed.

“You should know that one,” Izumo scolded. “You’re vulnerable to Water and it could really help you someday.”

Angel let himself into the second floor lobby. “Okumura, I would speak with you.”

The four exwires glanced at eachother then Bon, Izumo and Konekomaru filed out.

“What’s up?” Rin asked trying to hide his nervousness.

“I recommended that you be tested against an upper class Knight in your practical,” Angel said.

Rin gulped.

“They will assume that you will be crushed in such a match-up. You won’t be. There is no one the True Cross could field whom you would not make a good showing against,” Angel said with certainty. “Although you will probably lose the match. Winning is neither necessary nor expected for passing.” He didn’t add that it wasn’t even advisable.

“Okay,” Rin said. He still looked worried but couldn’t imagine Angel lying to spare his feelings.

“Rely on your secondary sword, not Kurikara,” Angel ordered. “Show them your skill as a Knight, not your power as a demon.”

Rin bobbed his head.

“You’ll do fine,” Angel assured him. “You are my student after all.” 

A quick grin flashed across Rin’s face. “Thanks,” he said.

Angel turned to leave the hesitated. “Also, in my experience, cramming at this point is not helpful. You’d do better to have a relaxing evening and get a full eight hours of sleep before the Exam so you are well rested.”

* * *

At five a.m the doors to the Exorcist Exam room swung open and the first and second year exwire classes, along with a dozen older Exwires shuffled in. Most were yawning and rubbing their eyes, cursing a schedule that had the written section of the exam starting nearly two hours before dawn. Rin was one of the few who looked wide awake and alert. 

The two proctors watched the clock until it showed precisely five minutes after the hour then shut the doors. “Anyone who is not in the room at this time has failed the exam for the year,” the more senior of the pair declared. “No excuses will be entertained.”

“Spread out across the room,” the senior proctor instructed. “There will be no sharing of tables during the exam. There will be no talking. Only one candidate at a time may be excused for a restroom break. You are allowed to get up and stretch as needed, provided your movements do not take you within another student’s area.” 

“Take out pencils, erasers and any refreshments you may have brought with you. Place them on your desk for inspection, then place your bags in the designated area at the front of the room. Deactivate your cellphones if you brought them and leave them with your bags. You will not be allowed access to them again until your written exam is handed in.” 

“You may leave the test at any time. Simply turn in your exam for grading and you will be excused. Once your written Exam has been turned in you are allowed the run of campus. However report promptly at 1330 hrs for the Oral Exam. Anyone who is not present by 1335 hrs will fail the exam. No excuses will be entertained.”

“My co-proctor and I will hand out the exams now. They will remain face down until precisely 0515. At which time I will verbally signal that you may start the exam. Anyone who turns over their exam early fails the exam.” Rin bit back the impulse to parrot, “No excuses will be entertained,” along with the proctor. 

There were several minutes of rustling while the exwires emptied their bags and the proctors walked around the room passing out exams and checking the piles of food, water bottles and writing supplies. At 5:10 the proctors started frowning sternly at the exwires who were still fumbling to get their supplies ready.

At 5:14 Godain tossed his bag into the pile beneath the blackboard at the front of the room then sprinted for his desk. The proctor shook his head and sighed as he placed the final exam face down at Godain’s place and walked to the front of the room. He turned, checked his wristwatch against the clock on the wall and announced, “You may begin the test.”

Bon flipped over his test, signed his name and started working on the first question. Konekomaru and Izumo spent a few minutes reading over all the questions on the test then started writing on the ones they felt sure of. Rin clipped his bangs back with the barrette Bon had given him back while they were still Pages. He read the first question, scribbled down a few words then stopped, erased his answers and read the question a second time. 

After the second hour Izumo stood up and took five minutes to go through a stretching routine before resuming her test. Konekomaru asked permission to refill his water bottle from the drinking fountain by the restrooms. Rin shoved his desk and chair aside and sprawled on the floor with his test in front of him. Bon scowled at his paper and raised his hand, “Can we write on the back of the test if there isn’t room for a complete answer? Or can you provide extra paper?” he asked the proctor.

By the fourth hour everyone had broken into their snacks. Konekomaru set aside his test for a few minutes to eat. Bon and Izumo manipulated their chopsticks with one hand while continuing to write with the other. Rin chewed his lower lip worriedly as he looked at the soy sauce stain on his test then superstitiously used his flames to burn the soy sauce away, leaving the paper clean and dry.

As the sixth hour ended Izumo reread her exam one last time then walked to the front of the room and turned it in. She collected her bag then walked back to her desk, packed up her things and left. Bon continued writing on the last page of the exam for another fifteen minutes then slammed down his pencil and stalked to the front of the room, he stapled an extra five sheets of paper covered in his neat orderly writing to the end of the exam then handed it in. Rin’s hair was dripping with sweat, he looked longingly at the door but kept writing, flipping back and forth between different questions. Konekomaru had been reviewing his answers for some time when Izumo turned in her report and continued reviewing until the proctor checked his watch then called time and asked for the exams to be turned in.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this year,” one of the older Exwires told a friend as they left the room. 

Bon and Izumo were waiting in the hall when Rin and Konekomaru emerged. “And now they want us to do an Oral Exam?” Rin was whimpering. Konekomaru patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

The first year Exwires staggered out of exam room looking as drained as Rin felt. “How did they expect us to learn all that in a year?” Suzuki was complaining. “Half of that stuff was never even touched on in class!” 

Everyone headed for the restrooms. Rin shoved his head under the tap and let the water run for a few minutes. Then sighed and shook his wet hair out to the annoyance of anyone standing nearby. “Okay, I’m alive again,” he declared. 

“I think part of it is an endurance test,” Bon commiserated. 

By the time Bon and Rin returned to the hall, a number of lower ranked exorcists had joined the two proctors. For several minutes they stood there silently. Then the senior proctor checked his watch yet again. “It is now 1335. Shut the doors.”

One of the older Exwires raised her hand. “Michi-chan is throwing up in the restroom. She gets nervous taking tests.”

“You can tell her to bring dramamine next year,” the proctor replied unsympathetically. “Anyone not currently present has failed the Exam.”

“For the oral section each candidate will be assigned a qualified exorcist who will quiz them individual for the next four hours. Each candidate will be escorted to the bathroom for a five minute break between 1500hrs and 1600hrs. There will be no other breaks.” 

“The sessions will be taped and graded by a panel. Candidates and examiners are instructed not to refer to themselves or each other by name once the exam begins to preserve the candidate’s anonymity to the graders.”

The proctor continued, reading a list of names, pairing off the examiners and candidates. “Okumura Rin, Snow Marcus.” 

Rin walked over to stand beside a skinny, sour-looking man outside one of the small interview rooms. “I was demoted because of you,” Snow hissed and Rin felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.

The proctor finished his list, “You may enter the testing rooms,” he declared. “A buzzer will sound at 1345 hrs precisely. Examiners, promptly begin quizzing your candidate once the buzzer sounds.”

Rin followed Snow into the small interview room. It was barren, no windows, the only furniture was a table with a tape recorder on it and two straight backed chairs facing each other across the table. Snow shut the door, then yanked away the chair Rin was about to sit on. “You’ll stand, Hell-spawn,” he said then sat down and turned on the tape recorder.

Rin shifted uncertainly. He glanced back at the door wondering if he should complain to the proctor. ‘But what good would that do?’ Rin thought fatalistically. ‘There are only a few people in the True Cross who don’t hate me and they all know me so they can’t give me the test anyway.’ Rin sighed and attempted to mimic the parade rest stance Angel tended to adopt when addressing people.

The moment the buzzer sounded Snow barked, “Revelations 8:12!” 

“Um… Revelations eight… That’s the angels and the trumpets…” For a moment Rin was watching Lucifer be dragged away again. “Rev-”

“Stalling,” Snow snapped. “Next question: Garudas, Kingdom and primary rival?” 

“Umm- I- Well-”

“Stalling.”

“Water,” Rin guessed randomly.

“Wrong.” Snow snapped off several more questions that Rin answered with wild guesses at best and Snow’s expression and tone grew increasingly scornful with each wrong answer.

‘I got demoted because of you,’ Rin suddenly realized that Snow must have been one of the people who’d been trying to get him and Bon hurt the previous summer until Angel had intervened. Rin’s tailed uncurled from his waist and stiffened angrily. This guy wanted him to fail, was doing everything he could to shake Rin’s confidence. And then he had the nerve to look down on Rin when it worked. The fluff on the end of Rin’s tail puffed up and started sparking with blue flames as his tail lashed behind him.

“John 3:16,” Snow asked, his voice broke fearfully. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Rin’s tail.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” Rin recited without thinking twice. He glared at Snow, flames dancing in his eyes, “WHOSOEVER!” he repeated.

Snow flinched and Rin realized how much power he was leaking. For a moment Rin felt a rush of shame at his loss of control. Since drawing Kurikara for the first time Rin had let his hair grow a bit long and shaggy. It covered the pointed tips of his ears and obscured his hellfire-blue eyes as long as he remembered to keep his gaze lowered. He’d trained himself to smile with his lips closed so his fangs didn’t show and tried to keep his tail hidden, although the damn thing seemed to have a mind of it’s own. Rin tried to hide the signs that he was a demon, out of shame and to keep people from fearing him, hating him on sight, but here he was losing control, leaking flames, because of a test.

Then Rin’s temper surged back. Snow was just another bully. The difference between him and the jerks Rin had spent elementary school and junior high beating up was that Snow was trying to use his authority to intimidate Rin rather than his physical size. 

When he’d been little Rin had always felt horrible after a fight. Once he’d gotten a hold of his temper and realized how much damage he’d caused he’d always been sick with guilt. By junior high he’d gained enough control over is strength that he could put a fist through a brick wall when he wanted to intimidate but only leave his human opponents bruised. In junior high the few times Rin had sent another kid to the hospital he’d fully intended to, because there were always a few who just refused to LEARN that they ought to leave Yukio and the smaller kids alone.

Rin’s head came up and he glared straight at Snow. Rather than clamping down on his power, Rin pulled his flames to the surface allowing them to dance over his body and coalesce into horns on his temples. “Next question?” he prompted.

* * *

“Do they have the schedule up for the practicals?” Rin asked. “I hope I’m soon. After that thing,” he glared over his shoulder at Snow. “I’m ready to get in a fight.”

“Sorry, but you’ve got the last slot,” Konekomaru replied turning away from the bulletin board. “There’s a group trial for Dragoon Candidates first thing tomorrow.”

Bon stepped up and glanced at the schedule as well. “My Aria test is immediately after.” 

“Then my knight test,” Maki interjected

“My test is the third day.” Konekomaru said. “They might let us trade.” 

Bon frowned, “I hate to ask, it’s not like it’s a real conflict in the schedule.” 

“You shouldn’t let your pride get in the way of doing your best in the Exam,” Konekomaru argued. “And it should be simple enough for the organizers to switch our slots since they’re both Aria-trials.”

“They’ve got all the Doctor’s exams back-to-back on the second day, fifteen minute increments” Ueno said. “How can they expect us to demonstrate what we’ve learned in that little time.”

“Enjoy your ignorance,” one of the older applicants remarked. “I pulled the first go,” she grimaced. “Lucky me.”

“They’ve scheduled my Knight-trial and my Tamer-trial for the same slot,” Izumo scowled. “They’re both solo tests, how hard can it be to figure out I can’t do both at once!” 

“Mephisto warned us,” Konekomaru reminded her.

“My Tamer-trial is as the same time as yours.” Godain chewed his lower lip worriedly. “If they want Yips to fight your Byakko I’m gonna withdraw.”

Izumo smirked.

Mana leaned over Godain’s shoulder to check the board. “My Aria test is right before Rin’s Knight test,” she said. She gave Bon and Konekomaru a pitiful look, “Senpai, one of you will let me know what I’m in for right?“

Bon snorted, “I don’t think so. If this is anything like the Exwire Exam going in blind is half the test.”

* * *

“Paladin Angel, what brings you to Kyoto?” A surprised junior exorcist exclaimed when he saw who had just come through the branch office’s official gate. 

“I’m here to speak with Branch Chief Shima,” Angel stated. 

The junior exorcist nodded and practically tripped over his chair, leaping to his feet to do as he was bid.

Yaozo eyed the Paladin warily as the tall, white-clad man invited himself into Yaozo’s office and shut the door. “Is there something I could help you with?” 

“Shima Renzo declined to take the Exorcist Exam,” Angel stated. “You should send him back to Delphi, he won’t be safe here with his attitude toward the True Cross.”

“What is your interest in my son?” Yaozo asked. “Why should I trust your advice instead of keeping him here with his family?”

“He is not your son,” Angel pointed out. 

“Close enough.”

“Not really. My interest is on account of Sally- No, you knew her as Koizumi Sachiko.”

Yaozo’s breath caught. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time,” he said warily.

“You Myodha take care of your own,” Angel said. “I do admire that. But you never saw Sally as one of you. You sheared her support network away and then abandoned her the moment you had no further use for her. She didn’t have anyone like Suguro, who plays politics well enough to see that anyone he cares about is officially acknowledged by his clan thus extending your protection to them.”

“Get off your soap-box, we all take care of our own first,” Yaozo said flatly. “You might define your ties by friendship or by hierarchy before blood, but you still look after your own. Or do you expect me to believe that you don’t know that your unquestioning obedience to the Grigori serves as a shield for your subordinates? The True Cross would have summarily executed anyone with Lewin Light’s background, but because he’s yours he’s one of their Arc Knights.” 

Angel ignored Yaozo. “Without official standing in the True Cross, Shima Renzo’s safety here will not be guaranteed. He is an unaffiliated demon, sooner or later someone will act on that fact,” he said. “I need to be present for the results from this year’s Exorcist Exam, but once that is settled I plan to see that he is returned to Delphi. His position there is less precarious. Will you get in my way or will you acknowledge that I am right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Yukio fights it's always as a Dragoon (probably because it's more dynamic), but I wonder if there wasn't some truth to Todo's comments and becoming a Doctor was checking off an accomplishment to follow in Shiro's footsteps truly being Yukio's ambition.
> 
> The worst test I ever took was an eight hour closed book (and we did not stop the test for lunch), followed by a 4 hour open book the next day. Eight solid hours of solving problems is brutal, then you wake up the next morning an come back for more. Afterwards we SHOULD have gone to a mindless action flick, instead we watched "The Talented Mr. Ripley".


	35. Practical Knowledge

Bon, Ito, Suzuki and Ueno separated from the other first and second year Exwires at the door to shooting range. While their friends headed up to the viewing deck the four Dragoon candidates descended into the depths of the building. “Finally, I get a real gun!” Ito chattered. “Goodby slingshot, hello bazooka!”

Ueno gave him a cool look. “I’m going to pick something practical, something I can carry along with my kit.”

“James Bond uses a Beretta,” Suzuki observed. “I want one of those.”

Bon shook his head and didn’t comment. He remembered over a month of familiarizing himself with dozens of weapons before the Range Master had given him permission to load a gun… even though he’d been ordered to carry one with him at all times to get used to the feel of it. And he remembered cleaning damn near every gun in the armory after he got caught pocketing a clip because he didn’t think he could threaten Angel with an empty gun twice and not get called, painfully, on it. Bon figured that if Range Master Tama had anything to do with administering the upcoming test a good portion of the candidates would fail without ever firing a bullet.

Bon and the three first years joined a line of older candidates. Bon thought he recognized one guy from the previous day’s testing but most of the candidates appeared to be ranked Exorcists returning for an additional Meister.

As they got closer to the front of the line the first years were split off into a shorter line for candidates who hadn’t brought a weapon with them. Bon waited his turn in the longer line, eventually reaching the front counter where he turned his Walther PPK over to the Dragoon who was checking applicants in. The Lower 2nd Class Exorcist popped out his ammo cartridge then checked the chamber and barrel, finally he dry fired the gun into a piles of sandbags before returning it. “Station 17,” he told Bon in a bored voice. Meanwhile the first-years checked out their weapons and were also assigned a station.

Ito hummed happily as he admired the bazooka he’d been given from all angles. It was mat black, it was threatening, most off all it was a Big Fucking Gun, Ito was in love. He sat down at his assigned table in a large gymnasium with several dozen other folding tables scattered around and wondered what he was going to get to shoot. He barely noticed the kit sitting on the corner of the table.

The Range Master walked out to the middle of the room. “Break down your weapon, clean it, reassemble it and stand up when you’re done. If the Dragoon who inspects it doesn’t think it’ll blow up in your face you’ll be given ammo and sent to the firing range for the next section of the test.”

Ito’s heart dropped. He stared at his beautiful new bazooka without a clue.

Across the room one of the other candidates stood up. After a brief inspection of his weapon she was handed several cartridges and moved on to the next room. Bon was the fifth candidate to stand and be passed. 

Ueno stood up and walked out, leaving her new gun behind. Ito wondered if he should follow her example and surrender gracefully. At the table next to him a skinny red-head gave his longbow one last loving buff then strung it and stood. “I brought my own ammunition,” He told the examiner in a haughty tone.

Ito took one last longing look at the bazooka then sighed and dug his slingshot out of his pocket. He checked it over carefully then stood. Shamefaced, he presented it to no less a person than the Range Master herself.

The old woman glanced at the abandoned bazooka then looked over Ito’s slingshot with an approving gleam in her eyes. “Follow me,” she said. “Let’s see what I can scare up for ammo.” As Ito followed her up to the supply counter he saw Suzuki trying futilely to force two pieces of his Beretta back together.

The Range Master leaned over the counter and called to one of her assistants. “We’ve got a slingshot here. Get him some holy water balloons, consecrated soil wrapped in a light mesh and- Let,s see, another set of water balloons with a dilution of myrrh in them.”

“Yes, Tama-sensei,” the assistant exclaimed rushing off to collect up the requested supplies.

Tama turned to Ito, “Normally Blessed Ashes are the third, but there’s a global shortage so we’re stockpiling what we’ve got in case the Kingdom of Rot acts up again. Gold and frankincense are always in short supply and given the situation in Greece I’m not passing those out willynilly either. Myrrh isn’t easier to lay hands on than gold and frankincense, but can you tell me why I’m more willing to part with it?”

For a moment Ito looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming train, then he rallied. “Myrrh is associated with the Kingdom of Time, um that never made sense to me, but it’s good against Light then Rot and Water. Gold is Light, which is Earth’s big weakness and frankincense is Spirit, Earth’s secondary weakness. Since you said you’re worried about Greece, meaning Gaia, you’re holding on to those.”

Tama nodded approvingly.

“You shouldn’t though,” Ito couldn’t help but add. “Gaia’s sort of like, I don’t know, tied to Shiemi-senpai. She’s not just hot, she’s really nice too.”

Tama raised an eyebrow at Ito’s declaration. “Heaven help you if you ever run into a succubus,” she sighed.

Ito grinned charmingly, “Not that Tama-sama isn’t exquisite herself.”

Tama shook her head. “Get along with you boy-o. Haven’t you a test to be taking?”

Ito bowed then blew her a kiss. As he started toward the shooting range Tama added, “About your question-” Ito stopped and looked back. “Myrrh’s association with Samael predates the Kingdom of Time. It comes from the days when he was the Angel of Death.”

Ito bowed again, less playfully. “I’ll remember,” he said.

* * *

After the Dragoon trial ended Konekomaru was introduced to senior Knight-Aria pair who were administering his Aria-trial. He followed them to an elevator in the Academy Administration building. The knight, a grizzled older man smirked at Konekomaru then hit a button and the elevator dropped like a stone. His partner stood at the back of the elevator, her arms crossed over her chest, an aloof expression on her face. 

After nearly five minutes of rapid descent the elevator slowed to a stop. The knight stepped out and gestured grandly for Konekomaru to step past him. “Welcome to the Pit,” he said as the sound of angry, frightened screeching drifted up to them. 

Cautiously Konekomaru stepped out of the elevator into what looked like a vast semi-natural cave. The floor of the cavern was dominated by a hole 7 meters across. A narrow metal catwalk led to an open basket structure that hung from a massive spool of cable attached to the roof. Cautiously Konekomaru stepped up to the edge and stared into the depths. The Pit appeared bottomless. The sheer walls, as far down as Konekomaru could see, were lined with barred cells. A second look at the basket revealed that it could rotate and a plank could be extended from it’s side, presumably to provide access to the cells. A faint shimmer over the Pit gave away the presence of a spiritual barrier, Konekomaru peered at the walls of the Pit and spotted a number of sutra pasted on the walls to maintain the barrier in the absence of an Aria chanting. Looking further down, Konekomaru saw another cluster of sutras and assumed that there must be multiple layers of barriers and thus the deeper in the Pit the more dangerous the demons imprisoned there.

The knight led the three of them out to the basket. “Normally the True Cross isn’t much for capturing demons, but we make an exception to stock up for the Exorcist Exam,” he said casually. “And then there are those pesky higher level demons who treat Exorcism like a revolving door. Seems you’re barely done sending them back to Gehenna and they’re already on their way back. Those, we capture if we get the chance. So here’s your test: They’re going to drop us slowly into the Pit. As we go down, the guys up top will open some of the doors, Exorcise anything that comes at us. If you screw up, Prudence and I deal with it. Screw up three times and the test is over.” The knight grinned manically, “Don’t worry, they won’t let any of the big ones out… On purpose.”

Konekomaru regarded him coolly. “Since most ‘revolving door demons’ are easily identifiable and have well documented fatal verses, it would behoove them not to make any mistakes as I’d just be compelled to send the demon back to Gehenna… And as you say, that isn’t terribly effective.”

The old knight grinned, “We’ll see if you’re as composed when the demons start coming at you.”

“Of course.” Konekomaru took out his prayer beads and sat in the center of the basket.

With whispered command the Aria lit the lantern hanging above the basket and they began their descent into the darkness of the Pit.

* * *

As Konekomaru left the Administration Building two hours later he met Izumo on her way in. “You got your scheduling conflict resolved?” he asked. 

Izumo raised an eyebrow at his hoarse, whispery voice. “The Tamer-Trial is a group test, either there was a typo on the schedule or they're deliberately screwing with me. They moved my Knight Trial up,” She replied. “So, how do you think you did?” 

“The examiner called a halt before I used up my three fails,” Konekomaru said with a grin. “Either they got bored or they took pity on me. My voice was about to give out.”

“Then why are you talking to me? Go back to the dorm, make tea or something,” Izumo ordered. 

Konekomaru smiled and gave Izumo a small bow. “Good luck,” he said.

Izumo nodded and walked into the Administration Building. The key she was given by the secretary took her to a large gymnasium. The bleachers surrounding the room were only lightly occupied. As Izumo assembled her naginata with a wooden practice blade and walked out to the center of the floor she saw Maki entering from a second door. He was carrying a bokken, holding like the bat he’d used in the Exwire Exam. 

Izumo looked at Maki and rolled her eyes.

One of the True Cross’ knights joined them on the floor, “This will be a basic spar,” he said. “Points awarded for strikes on your opponent and disarming. We’d rather no blood was spilled.” 

Maki gulped as he joined Izumo at the edge of the ring. Izumo bowed formally and after a moment Maki followed suit. Then Izumo attacked. She used the flat of the blade to smack Maki’s fingers making him drop his bokken. Then she whipped the staff around to sweep his legs out from under him. She lowered the point of her weapon until just touched Maki’s throat. “I surrender,” he croaked. The spar had lasted almost thirty seconds.

* * *

The second morning of the practical testing, all the Doctor-candidates were gathered in a room. One by one, they were led inside, a few returned looking triumphant but most looked pale and shaken when they returned from their test. Ueno had pulled one of the earlier slots, she waited with a growing feeling of uneasiness. And then it was her turn. The door opened and a Middle 1st Class knight called her name. Ueno picked up her medical kit and walked inside. 

The room on the other side of the door was a moderately sized concrete box. There was a young deer tethered in the center of the room by a short chain attached to a heavy collar around it’s neck. An Upper 2nd class Tamer waited on the far side of the room. The Knight shut the door behind Ueno. The Tamer reached into a basket at her side and pulled out a summoning circle. He pricked his thumb with a pin and smeared the blood across the paper. 

A puff of smoke filled the room, when it cleared there was a lion-like creature standing between the Tamer and the deer. It was as tall as a man at it’s shoulder, it’s mane was a spiney mass of scales, leathery batwings stretched from its overly-long wings, a segmented tail ending in an evil stinger curled over it’s back. It stalked toward the tethered deer. 

Ueno’s stomach twisted as the two Exorcists watched. The Knight put his hands on her shoulders to hold her back if she were overcome with the inclination to jump in the middle but that was all they did. The Manticore chuckled, it looked right at them as it sank its claws into the deer’s hanch. As the terrified animal shrieked in agony the manticore’s tail darted forward and plunged into it’s back. The tamer calmly tore the summoning circle in half and the manticore vanished.

Ueno swallowed back bile as the injured deer continued to thrash and scream. 

“There’s your test, go to it,” the Knight said.

* * *

Godain kept his familiar, Yips, on his shoulder as he walked into the Tamer’s test along side of Izumo on the third day of testing. He kept stealing wary glanced at Izumo and the other three Tamer-Candidates as they entered the grassy square where the test was to be held. He couldn’t forget Ueno and Suzuki returning from their test, staggering up the stairs to their rooms and simply locking themselves in, to upset to even consider participating in the Exwire’s normal group dinner.

The five Tamer-hopefuls were met by a Middle Second Class Tamer. “Alright, let’s get the preliminaries out of the way,” he said. “Everyone summon your familiar.” 

“Inari, I humbly beseech thee, grant my request!” Izumo called confidently, summoning Uke and Mike to her side. 

An older man stepped forward. “Anubis, I beg the loan of your Devourer!” he called and a thing the size of a dog with a crocodile's head and the tubby hindquarters of a hippopotamus rose out of the ground. “Until this year I’ve never been able to summon anything,” the man said excitedly. He scratched between the Ammut’s ears. “But now I have him as a familiar.”

The examiner noted something on his paper. “Next,” he called.

“Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto,” a heavier girl with short, curly hair called softly. “Send me light in the darkness, I pray.” A gently glowing blue heron answered her call. 

A lanky twenty-something stepped forward. He brushed his muddy brown hair out of his face and with a slightly embarrassed look said, “Er, Lord Amaimon, could ya give me a hand here.” In response to his call a roundish creature, about twice the size of a basketball, dug it’s way out of the earth with it’s short stubby arms. It shook the dirt out of it’s greenish-brown fur then rubbed up against the young man’s leg purring loudly.

Godain raised his hand nervously. “Um, should I send Yips away then summon him back?” he asked the examiner. “I don’t really like doing that, there’s an older Bunyip in his colony who bullies him whenever I send him back to Gehenna.”

The examiner stared at Godain for a moment. “That, won’t be necessary,” he said finally. Then he produced a sheaf of papers. “Think of this as a scavenger hunt and a race. On these papers I have a list of tasks, first person to complete all their tasks gets bonus-points for the section. If there are tasks you’re not capable of completing points will be deducted from your score. You can use your familiar or any other summons at your disposal to get the job done.”

Once the papers had been passed out the various candidates started scanning their lists. The older man looked up after a moment. “Ammut, could you knock down that wall for me?” he asked, pointing to one of a row a brick walls set-up at the edge of the square. His familiar stood up and sauntered over to the wall, then turned its back end toward it and kicked it several times. The stones crumbled and the wall fell. “Okay, let’s see what’s next,” the older Tamer-candidate declared.

“Kin of Miketsu, Kin of Uke Mochi, aid me,” Izumo called using a second summoning circle. 

“Hi!”, “Hi!”, “Hi!” the little fox spirits greeted her enthusiastically as they popped into existence. 

“Help me out and there will be rice treats for everyone later at the dorm,” Izumo promised. 

“Your Rin’s cooking?” one of the foxes asked suspiciously. 

“If your efforts inspire me to ask him nicely,” Izumo countered. “Now, I need ten or fifiteen of you to sap that wall over there. Another group pop over to Delphi and ask Moriyama-kun if she could spare these herbs,” Izumo quickly scrawled out a grocery list and passed it to one of the brighter fox spirits. “Uke, Mike, there’s a goblin infestation at the abandoned building two blocks off campus, on River Lane. Clean out the fourth floor ONLY. And yes you’re included in the bribe. Do NOT make any suggestions about how I could ‘ask Rin nicely’, or I’ll take it back.” While Uke, Mike and the second group of fox spirits vanished, the first group set to digging at the base of the wall, quickly undermining its foundation.

The muddy haired young man leaned down and whispered something in his familiar’s ear, it snickered and burrowed rapidly back into the ground. 

“Aosaginohi, please clear the third floor of the abandoned building,” the curly haired girl requested. Then as her familiar departed, she cracked her knuckles. “Lets get to work.” She pulled a pair of kaju katli bars out of her bag, unwrapped the sweet milk confections and arranged them on a plate. “Great Vishnu, I bring you this humble offering in thanks for the use of your servant.” A shadow fell over the group, they looked up to see a great golden eagle with two heads and red wings appear above them. “Magnificent Garudas, I know this task is beneath you, but could get rid of that wall please?” The two headed eagle swooped down and grabbed the wall in it’s talons ripping it from the ground and dropping it in a heap. Then it delicately picked up the cakes, one it each beak and vanished.

Godain read down the list of tasks with a look of growing despair. Finally a desperate smiled lit up his face, “I think we can handle this one, don’t you Yips?” The little bunyip nodded it’s beaver-like head. “You don’t want me to come with you?” Godain offered. Yips’ thick tail wagged, and he squeaked confidently. “Okay, if you’re sure,” Godain said and Yips dove into the fountain at the center of the square and was off.

“Put out a Soucouyant’s fire downtown,” Izumo read.

“We can do it!” several of her remaining fox spirits declared. 

“I’m sure you can,” Izumo replied. “But this is a test, I think I should show off my range a little. My bells please?” One of the foxes produced a box holding Izumo’s bells. “For your pleasure Ryujin,” she said and began to dance. After several minutes she knelt. “Honored Ryujin, send me aid against your ancient enemies, a malevolent demon of flame haunts this city.”

A Wani appeared. “You dance well Miko of Inari,” it told Inzumo. It’s many teeth gleaming against it’s thick grey hide. “I will honor your request.” And it dashed off on its stubby legs. 

Uke, Mike and Aosaginohi repeared. “There wasn’t a single goblin in the building,” Mike reported. 

The young man with the hobgoblin familiar smirked. A moment later a mass of hobgoblins appeared and started in on his wall. “That was too easy for Duke. As long as he’s got me backing him, he can just recruit any other gobs into our forces.”

The curly haired girl scowled, “I won’t let you stop me from completing my tasks that easily,” she declared. “Aosaginohi! There’s your colony! Get them!”

Mike leaned up against Izumo’s leg, “He called on Amaimon’s patronage when he summoned his familiar. It might not be wise for us to go up against him directly given our new Kingdom.” 

Izumo nodded, “But I’m not failing the test without putting up a fight. Could you ask the Wani to be sure he puts out ALL the fires downtown? If I can’t complete every task, no one else will either,” she declared. “Tell him I’ll have a special liver dinner prepared for Ryujin if he makes sure that guy,” she nodded to the hobgoblin’s Tamer, “doesn’t get a chance to put out any fires.” 

Mike nodded and took off. 

“Please tell him not to hurt Yips!” Godain called after Mike.

The oldest of the candidates glanced from his list over to the wall where Aosaginohi’s light was burning through the ranks of goblins then after Mike. “Well Ammut, is there anything you can do about gathering the herbs?” he asked with resignation.

“I know some people,” Ammut replied with a shrug of her leonine shoulders. “I’ll see if they’ll give us a hand.”

Yips reappeared and gave Godain a thumbs up, “You did it!” Godain cheered. “That’s great!”

Across the green the goblins had retreated underground and were beginning to organize retaliation for Aosaginohi’s assault.

Godain chewed nervously on his lower lip. “Maybe if we soaked the ground beneath our wall,” he suggested tentatively. Yips nodded. “But stay out of their way,” Godain finished gesturing to what was becoming an entrenched battle as Aosaginohi perched on top of the goblin’s wall and prepared to repel any who dared approach.

Yips circled around the battle and started spitting a steady stream of water at the base of his wall. The wall absorbed the moisture but gave no sign of weakening. After several minutes the little bunyip returned to Godain with a sorrowful expression on his face. 

“The walls are dwarf built,” the examiner told Godain sounding slightly apologetic. “A minor water demon like that never stood a chance.”

“I don’t have a clue how I’d manage to get any of the herbs either,” Godain admitted.

“It wasn’t a bad attempt for a first year,” the Middle 2nd Class Tamer told Godain. “Now you’ve got a little experience to understand why you need a range of summons to call on for your next attempt.”

Godain sighed and nodded.

Meanwhile Wani returned. “The little water squirt got his out for I could get there, but all the other fires are out courtesy of me and your Byakko and I made sure that Soucouyant won’t be starting any more.” The Wani gave Izumo a toothy grin and licked his lips. “Ryujin will be looking forward to his liver dinner.”

“Give me a week,” Izumo said. “I don’t know if I can ask my boyfriend to fix a reward for Exorcising a Fire Demon… Unless Ryujin was willing to discuss accords. Not every Fire Demon bows to Iblis you know.” 

“Even without Iblis and Egyn, the nature of Fire and Water is to be in opposition,” the Wani said. “Still, Ryujin might want to meet the Fire Prince Rin. I doubt he’d be against making the dinner you owe into a conciliation between the two of them.” 

In the meanwhile the Hobgoblins managed to undermine their wall’s foundation, it collapsed into the resulting pit and the goblins scurried away into their tunnels before Aosaginohi could attack them.

Izumo’s delegation to Delphi and Ammut returned with the herb one after another. 

The examiner glanced around the devastated square “Okay, I’m calling time. The two of you aren’t even trying to complete your last task,” he said to the girl with Light Affinity and the young man with Earth Affinity.

* * *

Later on the third day of practicals, Bon shifted his stance in response to the swaying, jerky descent of the basket. The shear walls of the Pit rose a hundred meters over his head and the bottom was still lost in shadows. Demons of all sorts pressed themselves against the bars of their cells, reaching for him or just watching hungrily as he passed by.

Since nothing was coming at him in that very second Bon took a moment to reinforce the barrier he’d set around the basket.

With a screech from unoiled hinges one of the cells sprang open. Bon snapped out a quick identifier spell. A light blue glow preceded the demon from the depths of the cell. Bon grinned confidently, ‘Water.’ Because of Rin he was particularly well-versed in combatting Water Demons. Bon’s cadence shifted as he switched languages, sharp emphatic consonants marking his recitation. A spray of water erupted from the demon, a kelpie, and it crumpled, leaving behind a simple seahorse once the demon had been exorcised.

“What verse was that?” the aloof Aria administering the Aria-trials asked, lowering herself to speak to a candidate for the first time.

“Exodus 14:21,” Bon replied.

“Good for weakening most water demons,” the older Aria confirmed. “But…”

“It gains power in it’s original language,” Bon explained shortly. He kept his eyes open for the next attack.

The creak of a cell door opening echoed up from the depths of the Pit. Instantly the older Knight and Aria were on their guard. “Off program?” Bon asked in a soft voice. 

The Knight nodded. “Too far down. They should only be opening cages within two levels up or down from our position.

“I’m going switch to an active barrier,” Bon stated. “Leave the offense to you guys. Let me know when the test’s back on.”

The Aria nodded.

“No Earth to bind it to,” Bon muttered to himself. He sat cross-legged in the center of the basket, his hands loosely clasped in his lap, his prayer beads cradled between them. As he chanted the faint shimmer of the barrier he’d set up earlier became a more defined sphere around the basket.

From the depths they heard something heavy climbing toward them. The Aria began chanting quietly, pre-setting a number of identification spells to activate as soon as the demon came in range. The Knight unhooked a mace from his belt as he spoke softly into his comm, alerting the people above of the irregularity.

Bon saw glowing red eyes then a flash of pale hair as the demon leapt across the pit, launching itself up a level of cells in the process. Then it was lost in the shadows again.

“There’s something of my half-breed baby brother about you,” a grating voice declared. “What has he been up to?” 

The demon leapt upwards again, revealing curling horns and the tattered remains of a True Cross Academy uniform hanging around the shoulders of a massive, goat-legged demon. It’s red eyes glowed malevolently as it started up at Bon.

Bon continued chanting, but he flashed a quick hand-sign to the other two exorcists. 

“Bloody Astaroth?” the Knight swore. “You’re sure?”

Astaroth ripped several sutra off the wall then flung himself upward another dozen feet as the barrier above him failed.

The Aria’s spells went off surrounding him in oily, black aura. “Kingdom of Rot, off the charts power,” she confirmed.

For a moment the Knight just listened to his ear bud. Then he turned to the other two. “They’re sending a squad down to recapture him. We’re to hold out as long as we can. His fatal verse won’t work even if we were allowed to use it. We’re not to kill his host body under any circumstances, not even in defense of our lives.”

The Aria put her hand on Bon’s shoulder and started a new chant, her voice weaving around Bon’s. His barrier spread to cap the pit just below the basket as she reinforced it.

In the space between one stanza and the next Bon raised his hand to his mouth and bit into the webbing between his thumb and fingers, drawing blood, then he reached into his pocket for Karura’s summoning circle.

The firebird looked around taking stock of the situation. “You don’t like small messes,” he remarked.

Bon gave a sign for defense.

Karura looked skeptical. “You can’t tie your barrier to the element of Earth here. Better to tie our abilities to Air and attack.”

“We have orders,” the Knight explained shortly. Bon nodded, confirming the order to Karura.

Above, in the spectator’s gallery, Mephisto cut Rin off as he went to join the assault force. “Bon’s in trouble. I have to go,” Rin said, drawing his sword.

Mephisto grabbed his wrist, preventing Rin from bringing Kurikara into play once the sword was drawn. “This isn’t what they have to see,” he said.

“It’s Bon!” Rin protested. His body transformed to flame.

Mesphisto didn’t flinch, he simply spun Rin around and pinned the writhing mass of blue flames against his chest. “You can help him, but not like that,” the older demon whispered in Rin’s ear.

Below Astaroth pounded on the barrier keeping him from the three Exorcists, “The more you struggle the more it whets my appetite for your screams little mice,” he rumbled.

Sweat matted Bon’s hair and the older Aria was swaying with exhaustion. Her Knight set himself for their final defense while Karura considered their odds if he tried to fly Bon out. Without the younger Aria’s raw strength the barrier would have already fallen and Karura had a feeling that Astaroth would bypass the senior Exorcists to go after Bon.

Astaroth’s fist punched through the barrier. He chuckled darkly as he tore at the hole with his claws, “Soon, soon. I can already feel your entrails squishing between my teeth.”

Bon and the senior poured all their strength into the barrier, fighting to hold it together under Astaroth’s assault.

At the mouth of the Pit an Order assault squad pulled on repelling gear.

Angel glanced at Lightning as they joined the group. “Ready when you are,” the Arc Knight replied.

Angel drew Caliburn across his palm, coating the blade-edge in a thin film of blood. “Oh my Angel!” Caliburn purred ecstatically.

“Contain yourself,” Angel muttered. “We are to recapture the Hell King, alive. That was merely a bribe to ensure good behavior.” He leapt from the edge of the Pit.

Lightning followed him immediately, “Furfur, Lightning the Master ruling over the Four Great… And the rest is omitted!” he called and a shining lightning dog was summoned, falling alongside them. Lightning began a second incantation. After a few moments gusts of wind swirled up from beneath them, controlling their descent as they plummeted into the Pit.

Several dozen feet below Angel and Lightning’s possition, Bon’s head jerked up. The barrier turned a brilliant sapphire blue and the hole closed around Astaroth’s hands, trapping him. The older Aria screamed at the sight of blue flames surrounding them. The Knight’s mace dropped from nerveless fingers as he collapsed to his knees. “God save us,” he whispered. 

Bon’s eyes went flat and hard. He stood and used his hands to manipulate the fiery blue barrier as he continued chanting.

Astaroth struggled to pull himself free, but, like a fly caught in a spider’s web, his struggles only entangled him further.

Angel and Lightning saw the blue glow rising up from the Pit. For a moment they both tensed. Lightning sent Furfur ahead, then grinned at Angel, “Our Okumura’s,” he reported.

A few seconds later they dropped into the basket along with Bon, Karura and the senior Aria/Knight pair. “You and Okumura make a practice of stealing my thunder,” Angel complained to Bon, affection tinging his voice. Then he spared the senior Exorcists a scornful look. “Pull yourselves together. The flames are Okumura’s, not Satan’s. Even were that not the case you’re embarrassing yourselves and the Order.”

Lightning eyed Astaroth’s struggles then asked Bon, “How are you holding up?”

Bon made a so-so gesture. Even with Rin and Karura allowing him to channel their powers the least of the Hell Kings was still a formidable opponent.

Lightning waved Furfur forward. “Go ahead, I brought you this far, you might as well have a bit of fun.” The demon-dog’s bite acted like a taser on the bound Hell King. Astaroth shrieked, jerked uncontrollably for a few moments then fell unconscious, hanging limply from Bon’s barrier. “Okay, tie it off,” Lightning instructed. “You don’t need to keep pouring yourself and your allies into it.”

Bon nodded. Once it was done he allowed himself to slump with exhaustion.

“Situation under control,” Angel reported to those above. “Instruct the team following us to restore the barriers Astaroth destroyed. Send the basket to the bottom, we’ll return the King of Decay to his cell.” 

“If Surugo’s trail is considered incomplete we’ll finish it on our way up.” He listened for a moment then turned to Bon. “I’m told they’ve seen enough of your abilities.” He shrugged, “I don’t know if congratulations are in order or not.”

“Oh. Okay.” Bon said tiredly. Karura’s wings drooped and his flames were dimmed. “Why don’t you head on back and get some rest,” Bon suggested and the firebird dispersed.

The basket resumed its descent, moving more quickly and smoothly than it had during Bon’s test.

After several minutes Bon turned to Lightning. “I thought you were the Doctor-Adept,” he said.

“Well, Tereza-chan can call on Veles to aid her. He’d smush any of my little friends,” LIghting replied dismissively. “My natural affinity is Time and the Kin of Samael are notorious for not coming when called. Honestly I wish the Order would call Samael’s Kingdom by it’s proper name: Entropy, or perhaps Chaos, either would be more informative.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Angel remarked. “Lightning’s ‘understandings’ with high level demons of all Kingdoms would more than qualify him for the position of Tamer-Adept in most companies. The truth is he could have qualified for any of the Adept-positions but my team was lacking a Doctor so that is the role he assumed.”

Above, in the spectator’s gallery Rin collapsed back into flesh. Mephisto waited several moments, until he was sure that Rin was steady on his feet before releasing him. 

The older demon’s gloves and, in fact, the whole front of his suit were burned from contact with Rin’s flames. Mephisto’s hands and chest were blistered where his skin showed beneath the soot. He stepped back and patted Rin on his shoulder. “See, no harm came to your lord,” he said with a smile.

“My flames never burned you before,” Rin said, unable to tear his eyes away from the damage he’d done.

“I never placed myself between you and the safety of someone precious to you before,” Mephisto replied easily. “Before you’ve wanted to show me that you were angry. This is the first time you’ve truly wanted to hurt me.”

Rin’s shoulders hunched in, he stared at his feet.

Mephisto reached out and tilted his chin back up. “It’s all right,” he said serenely. “Sometimes your goals are so important that you have to be willing to hurt anyone who stands in you way. Even family.”

“Suguro-kun is unharmed. I knew he would be, you didn’t.” Mephisto smiled. “And now you know that you can allow him to share your power even when you can’t physically be with him.”

Tentatively Rin smiled back. He gestured to Mephisto’s burns. “I’m sorry,” he said. Then Rin noticed the older scars criss-crossing Mephisto’s chest and his eyes widened.

Mephisto glanced down and sighed. “I was fond of this suit,” he said mournfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for physical items to represent the Eight Kingdoms as Exorcist Tools I’ve got: Water-Holy water, Flame- blessed ashes, Earth- Sacred Soil, Decay- Venerated Relics, Time- Myrrh, Light- Gold, Spirit- Frankincense
> 
> I’m thinking for the Kindom of Insects I’m going to try to think of something without any Christian symbolism. The best ideas I’ve had for something to do with Beelzebub is make him something slightly different than the other seven (that and torture Renzo more, given his love of bugs). Besides which the logic behind gold (the color of sunlight), frankincense (associated with temple incense) and myrrh (associated with death/embalming) is pretty shaky.


	36. Final Exam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having caught up with the Manga a while back it becomes harder to work cannon developments in. Since I’ve already got my Arc Knights as Angel’s team, the one recently introduced in cannon become the Grigori’s cabinet in my AU (because they look like neat characters and I hate to pretend they don’t exist just because I was too impatient to wait for them to be introduced). The abilities Lightning demonstrates in cannon get added to his repertoire. When I get around to Izumo actually looking for her little sister, I’ll probably have Takara show up, since I’d finally have something for him to do.

Yaozo looked around the crowded dinner table with mixed feelings as Tsuzo brought out dessert, offering it to the newest members of his family, Meda and Mamushi before handing the plate to Juuzo to pass around the table. Earlier that day Juuzo and Mamushi had quietly slipped away to register their marriage and adoption of Meda. Gouzo was home from Canada for the holidays, although Sakura’s responsibilities with the True Cross hadn’t permitted her to get away again so soon after coming home to check on Renzo. And Renzo himself was back, albeit belatedly from visiting his friends at the Academy, for the moment anyway. 

“Hey Juu, stop hogging the mochi!” Kinzo complained.

Renzo reached over Yumi and Meda’s heads to snag two of the dessert puffs from the plate at Juuzo’s elbow. He shoved one in his mouth and tossed the other across the table to Kinzo.

“I swear they do know manners,” Tsuzo told Mamushi. She glared accusingly at her father. “And they actually practice them when Mom’s around.”

Yaozo blinked at his eldest daughter. “I can’t say ‘boy remember your company manners’ now can I? Mamushi and Meda-chan are family.”

“We don’t have to act like animals in front of family either!” Tsuzo exclaimed. “Meda and Yumi are girls! People will expect them to have manners. You should make the boys set a good example for them.”

Kinzo put his mochi cake on the table then leaned down and tore at it with his teeth, giving his table-mates suspicious looks and warning growls as he scarfed it down. 

Tsuzo snatched up another cake and threw it at her younger brother. Kinzo managed to catch it in his mouth then started choking. Gouzo pounded him on the back until he coughed it back up. Kinzo caught the doughy treat before it hit the floor, looked it over then shrugged and took a bite. “Thanks sis, I wanted seconds,” he said.

“Arrrgh!!” Tsuzo shouted.

Meda giggled then clapped a hand over her mouth, a look of surprise filling her eyes at the unexpected noise she’d produced. Juuzo smiled and patted her shoulder. “Your uncles are morons, it’s good to laugh at them.” He didn’t mention Tsuzo, she was sitting much closer to him than any of his brothers and he didn’t have Mamushi or Meda obstructing her venues of retaliation. 

After the meal ended everyone picked up their plate and a second dish then carried them into the kitchen and stacked them on the counter. While Kinzo and Gouzo started scraping plates into a dish for Tsuzo and Yumi’s salamanders to share the others finished clearing the table.

Once they’d finished Yaozo pulled Renzo aside. “You didn’t come home for New Year’s,” he said quietly.

“Neither did Bon. I was having fun with my friends,” Renzo whined. 

“Until the Exorcist Exam became imminent,” Yaozo replied. “Then you started feeling more uncomfortable at the Academy than you felt here so you came home.”

Renzo glanced away, not refuting Yaozo’s evaluation of his motives.

“The Paladin thinks you should return to Delphi,” Yaozo said. “He’s coming in a couple of days to escort you back. If you don’t want to go I’ll oppose him, but…”

“But?” Renzo asked.

“Lucifer might be gone but Todo and a number of other Demon-Eaters are still out there. The Myo’o Dhari have known you since you were an infant, I don’t think any of them would ever hurt you, but when the Illuminati start causing problems again-” Yaozo sighed. “There will be others like Hsu in the True Cross who will believe that experimenting on you can provide the key to fighting Demon-Eaters.”

“If I stay you’re likely to end up in a fight with the Order,” Renzo translated. “Okay, I’ll go. I would have gone back to Shiemi-chan eventually anyways, she’s prettier than anyone around here.”

“If you want to stay-” Yaozo offered. 

Renzo grinned, “Naw don’t start worrying about me now.”

* * *

“What brings us all here today?” Mephisto asked, with a knowing look as he took his seat among the Grigori’s advisory committee. “We haven’t even begun the final day of the Practical Trials.”

“As if you weren’t aware,” a tiny, wrinkled old woman said. “Suguro Ryuji was able to channel Satan’s blue flames.”

“Okumura’s flames,” Angel corrected.

“One in a hundred Tamers are capable channeling their familiar’s power without intermediary,” a large man with feathers in his hair pointed out. “To have a bond with a Fallen, demons untamable even by God, strong enough to enable a human to call on their power at need...”

Mephisto smiled to himself at the advisor’s description of the Fallen. “I still do not see why we are here. All I see is evidence that I have more than fulfilled the terms of the bet you made with me eighteen months ago. I stood before the Grigori and promised you a weapon. Today you see before you a Knight/Aria partnership capable of wielding the blue flames, which were Satan’s sole province only seventeen years ago, for the Order of the True Cross. The test results complied thus far confirm that Suguro-kun is quite the prodigy. And, until he scared the pants off them, the practical examiners were quite impressed, Neve-chan never talks to the candidates. As for Rin-kun, you haven’t allowed him to complete his test yet. However, I believe the Paladin has given quite a vote of confidence, requesting that he be tested against one of the Order’s top-ranked Knights.” 

The third advisor, a thin man with a monocle, turned to Angel. “Is this true? You aren’t simply intending to humble the demon-child?”

“I find Okumura more than adequately humbled by the circumstances of his birth. And he has shown a strong aptitude for the Knight’s discipline,” Angel said.

Casper raised a hand. “The opinions of Sir Pheles and Paladin Angel are so noted. Have our other advisors had their say?”

The old woman shrugged. “As Sir Redarm says, a demon granting a human the freedom to channel their power is rare, but not unheard of.”

“I find it disquieting to think that we may have a stronger hold on the demon-child than on the Myodhan heir, the man with the monocle said. 

“Sir Pheles has correctly pointed out that the Exam is not yet finished,” Redarm said. “We should see what accepting his gamble has bought us.”

“Okumura, Suguro and their classmates were instrumental in Lucifer’s defeat and in the Impure King’s earlier this summer,” the old woman said. Mephisto and Angel both nodded in agreement. “Not insignificant accomplishments for Exwires. It seems to me that we should not be discussing whether or not we want them, but how best to bind them to us.”

The man with the monocle nodded. “Beyond the demon-child’s inheritance of Satan’s flames the Myohdan familiars have become the last remaining faction of the Flame Kingdom which has not declared war on Assiah. We can’t afford to lose them.”

* * *

After the meeting was closed Angel was annoyed to discover Mephisto walking along beside him. For several minutes he strove to ignore the white-clad demon then he spun on his heel and demanded, “What do you want?”

Mephisto contrived to look injured. “I merely wished to ask if it were truly so inconceivable that a demon would share what power he could with a human who had gone to the effort of befriending him.”

“Inconceivable that a demon could be a true friend and not simply using the human for his own ends,” Angel snapped. Then he stopped and sighed, “I know that Okumura wears his heart on his sleeve,” he gave Mephisto a distasteful glance, “but he is not the norm.”

“Rin is very young, by my standards impossibly young,” Mephisto replied. “The openness you prize in him will be lost if it’s abused. The Grigori and their advisors regard his every action with suspicion he hasn’t earned because of his blood. But I have seen human duplicity in age after age. From that I’ve learned, painfully, to guard my heart and my autonomy.”

Angel grimaced, not wanting to accept what Mephisto was saying but incapable of rejecting it out of hand.

“I promised the Grigori a weapon against Satan.” Mephisto shrugged. “I need a weapon against Satan,” he admitted. “It would have been easy enough to arrange to have someone browbeat Rin with Satan’s evil until he was eager to do anything to make up for the crime of being born. But he wouldn’t have loved Assiah, he simply would have loathed himself. Shiro was one of the only humans I could trust to love Rin, to raise him to see the beauty of Assiah even through it’s many horrors instead of seeing with Kay’s eyes.” 

“How does that benefit you?” Angel demanded. “Okumura may not be typical of demons but you certainly typify everything I despise about them.”

“Living weapons are so very frail,” Mephisto replied distantly. “And, although you may not believe it, I do have a conscious.”

* * *

As final day of the Exorcist Exam drew to a close and the number trials dwindled a crowd of Exorcists gathered in the Academy’s largest arena, where Okumura Rin, the half-human son of Satan was scheduled to take his practical exam against one of the Order’s Upper Class Knights. 

In the hallways below the audience, Rin adjusted the straps on his sword harness. He reached for the handle to the double doors then turned to his friends, “Wish me luck,” he said with a nervous grin. 

“You’ll do fine,” Bon told him. Konekomaru, Godain, Mana and Ito nodded in agreement. 

Izumo went up on her toes and kissed him firmly. “For luck,” she said, her face cherry-red.

Once the Exwires stepped back Angel took his turn. “I will be among the spectators,” he told Rin. “I fully expect your performance will be a credit to my teaching.”

Rin nodded jerkily. 

“Don’t be nervous,” Mephisto added transforming from his terrier-form. “And don’t get distracted. You’ve become an excellent swordsman, it is time to show everyone that, little brother.”

Rin took a deep breath and pushed open the doors. Across the room a young woman perched on the low wall separating the arena from the spectators. Her open True Cross jacket revealed nothing more than a well-filled bikini and a tattoo that ran from her chest to her stomach before disappearing beneath her low-slung pants. She flicked a long red ponytail tipped with yellow flames over her shoulder and hopped down to saunter over to Rin. “Kirigakure Shura, the Order asked me to come test you,” she introduced herself. “And I thought, ‘Why not?’ Gives me a chance to find out if you’re worth the hell you’ve put your brother through.”

“Yukio?” Rin’s breath caught.

Shura shrugged, “I’ve known Scaredy-cat four-eyes since he was a little brat just starting training. We shacked up since he transferred to Brazil.”

Rin scowled at Shura. “You’re way old for Yukio,” he informed her critically.

Shura twitched. “What do you mean? I’m eighteen.”

Rin rolled his eyes, “You’ve got to be around Angel’s age. Way too old to be doing anything with my little brother.” 

“Okay kid, I’m probably going to enjoy this way more than I should, but…” Shura put a hand to the upper half of her tattoo. “Devour the eight princesses,” a sword hilt emerged from her chest, “slay the serpent!” 

Rin quickly drew his katana and wakizashi, leaving Kurikara sheathed. He waited just long enough for Shura to finish drawing her sword then went on the offensive. Shura countered. With their swords engaged, Rin lashed out with his wakizashi. Shura kicked him in the chest, using the momentum of her blow to leap back when Rin didn’t give ground. 

“Shiro didn’t teach you to fight,” Shura said, sounding puzzled, after several more exchanges. 

For a moment Rin’s eyes were shadowed and sad, “No, Dad didn’t think I could handle it.”

He pivoted on his heel to avoid Shura’s lung, bring his elbow around in hopes of catching her back unguarded. Shura ducked under his arm and brought her own sword to bare only to find it blocked by Rin’s short sword. 

Shura leapt back, crying, “Dabo.” She cast a flurry of wind cuts off the edge of her blade.

“Whoa!” Rin exclaimed leaping over the attack. He considered drawing Kurikara, Angel hadn’t told him that the other guy might have a demon sword too, but decided against it. He’d been told to fight as a knight. He pulled a trace of his flames passed the seal, infusing his blade with enough of his power that he was pretty sure he could cut Shura’s attacks and set himself for the next barrage.

Shura’s eyes widened when Rin’s blade sliced through her snake fang. ‘He’s using his powers without unsealing his blade?’ she thought as Rin closed, forcing her to go blade-to-blade again. Shura swept Rin’s legs out from under him. 

Rin rolled to the side, dodging her downward lung. 

“Dabo!” 

Barely on his feet, Rin planted his sword in front of him and let his demon powers cut through Shura’s attack.

With Rin occupied, Shura ran her hand down the length of her blade, “Hebiransu!” Her sword shifted, gaining length and becoming more snake-like, an eye blinked open on the tip of the blade. 

Warily Rin fell back into a guard position. When Shura pressed an attack, he found her blade was not only longer now, it seemed to curve around his sword like a living thing. He continued fending off her attacks but couldn’t regain the offensive. 

“Sorry kid,” Shura said after several minutes showed they’d found a new stalemate. “Gara Gara! Dabo!” Her first attack forcibly stripped Rin of his demonic abilities, the second came so quickly on it’s heels he wasn’t able to adjust to his sudden inability to cut through Shura’s wind cuts. The attack tossed Rin across the arena, smashing him viciously into the wall. Shura sauntered over and pointed the tip of her sword at Rin’s throat. “Yield.” 

To her surprise Rin grabbed the blade and yanked it forward. He twisted to the side as it’s tip was buried in the floorboards and kicked her ankle out from under her. 

Shura let herself fall. Her elbow drilled into Rin’s chest with her full momentum behind it. The sound of breaking bones was clear across the arena. She chanted a quick phrase, her hand coming up beneath Rin’s chin and a blast of energy slammed his head against the floor with a loud crack. Shura stood up. “Spar’s over,” she told the Examiner. 

She knelt down beside Rin. “You are bat-shit crazy kid,” she told him as he blinked up at her muggily. She grabbed his injured hand and turned it over to reveal dark purple lines radiating out from where he’d cut himself grabbing her blade. “If the snake theme didn’t clue you in that my sword’s venomous then you ought to know that nearly half the demon blades that consume their wielder’s blood can do damn nasty things with an opponent’s. And after I knocked out your powers you didn’t have any more resilience than a baseline human.” She took a small vial out of her pocket and smeared the contents across Rin’s hand. Immediately the purple streaks began to fade. 

“Ouch,” Rin said after a moment. He reached up and rubbed his head. 

Shura pulled him upright and helped him wobble out of the arena. “Yeah, go see a doctor. You’ve probably got a concussion and at least three broken ribs,” she said. For a moment Shura studied him, “You aren’t exactly the hopeless idiot your brother makes you out to be.”

Rin grimaced. “Just cause I’m not as smart as him and Dad trained him and not me, Yukio thinks I can’t do anything.” 

Shura leaned him up against a wall while she shut the door to the arena behind them leaving them in the deserted quiet of the hallway. “You’re not exactly the weapon I had reason to think you might be either,” she continued. “But you are a tough, pig-headed little brat. And for your information, I am eighteen.”

“In that case, you were disrupting the Order with your drunken antics when you were in diapers,” Angel snorted dismissively as he appeared at the bottom of the stairwell leading down from the spectator's boxes. He stalked over to Rin, reached over his shoulder and yanked Kurikara free of it’s sheathe. 

Shura yelped and leapt away from the burst of flames enveloping Rin.

“Change your form to flames,” Angel order bruquestly. 

Automatically Rin complied. When he shifted back to flesh his head was clear and his ribs didn’t hurt anymore. 

Shura looked startled. “He had that much power not five minutes after I used Absolute Emptiness on him?”

Angel replied with a smug smile. “He was testing as a knight, you’re the one who made it about brute force rather than skill.”

Rin gave Shura a worried, disapproving look. “Yukio isn’t as old as he tries to act,” he told her seriously.

Shura’s expression softened. “I know. He’s staying with me because he needs a place to stay that he can be sure is secure. I flirt with him to tease him. Being a little less emotionally constipated would do him a world of good.”

Rin chuckled reluctantly at that. 

“But you know, once Yukio puts himself back together again I don’t think he be a kid anymore.” Rin frowned but Shura kept talking, “Well anyway, I’m still not sure what to make of you, but for what it’s worth, best of luck on your test. And next time have the good sense to know when to yield! No one expects you to win a fight against an Exorcist six ranks up from you.”

“No one expected an Exwire to force a Upper First Class Exorcist to pull out all her tricks, but he did,” Angel pointed out proudly.

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve got a good student there, Baldly. Probably in spite of you,” Shura called over her shoulder as she saunter away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Kay’s eyes” refers to the boy in Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”. In everything he saw whatever was good or beautiful shrank away to nothing, but whatever was worthless or bad was magnified.


	37. Before Review

Angel opened the door to the Old Dorm the day after the Exorcist Exam. The windows in the main lobby had been covered, casting the room in shadows. A projector, most likely acquired from one of the Academy’s classrooms was hooked up to a laptop and playing movies on screen made from a bedsheet tacked to the wall. In the glow of explosions from the screen, Angel was able to make out several couples scattered across the lobby’s couches. 

The Paladin turned on the light switch by the door and cleared his throat loudly. He pointedly ignored the various couples jumping apart, blushing and quickly trying to straighten their clothes. “Okumura, the Grigori has summoned you. They’ve finished scoring your Exam.”

Rin gulped. “Already? Did I…”

“I have been ordered not to relate your score,” Angel said. Then he suggested, “You have time to make yourself presentable. Your Academy uniform would be appropriate.” 

“Should we come too?” Bon asked as he, Izumo and Konekomaru stood. After a moment Godain and Mana joined them. 

“No, you will not come,” Angel stated flatly. Then seeing the rebellious expressions on the teens’ faces he sighed. “Sir Pheles asked me to relay a message: ‘Last year’s tactics will have grown stale.’ Will you consider doing as I have ordered, since it also has the Trickster’s backing?”

Bon and Izumo exchanged a wary look then nodded, with their endorsement the other three Exwires backed down as well.

Rin came back downstairs several minutes later. Angel took a moment to adjust Kurikara’s strap so it didn’t wrinkle Rin’s collar then he used a gate-key to open a door directly to the hall outside the Grigori’s audience chamber. Mesphisto was waiting for them in front of the double doors.

Mephisto tugged at Rin’s bangs where they fell into his eyes, “Very untidy,” he scolded. “I had hoped you would pick-up Sir Lightning’s good habits, spending time with him, not his bad ones.” And with a snap of his fingers Rin’s hair was neatly gelled back out of his face.

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me if I passed?” Rin asked hopefully.

“How could I when your test is still in progress,” Mephisto declared grandly. Then his expression gentled, “Trust us, Rin.” 

The oversized doors to the courtroom swung open. As before the Grigori sat on their high thrones and stared down at Rin like he was a bug crawling before them. Angel put a hand between Rin’s shoulder-blades and gave him a slight push forward. 

“So how does everyone else get their test results?” Rin asked Mephisto out of the corner of his mouth as he stepped forward. 

“A letter,” Mephisto replied drily. “With a very official seal. Real wax and everything.”

Rin snorted softly.

“Come, enough dallying,” Angel said. 

“If I failed, you think they’ll want you to kill me on the spot?” Rin asked glancing back at Angel. Angel’s mouth thinned. The three of them walked in and stood before the Grigori. Mephisto stepped away once they were in the courtroom, but Angel remained at Rin’s side. 

“Okumura Rin,” Baltazar stated in an ominous voice. “You have failed the Exorcist Exam, despite being allowed eighteen months rather than the initial six which was agreed upon. By the terms of our arrangement your life is forfeit.” 

Rin started to argue, but Angel laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Is the Grigori dissatisfied by my service?” he asked.

“Paladin, what bearing does this have on the matter at hand?” Gaspar asked.

“Is my service to the Order of the True Cross unsatisfactory?” Angel repeated.

“You have been an exemplary servant to this council,” Melchior replied. “Your student’s failing will not reflect poorly on you.”

“Thank you, but that was not my point,” Angel said. “I took the Exorcist Exam three times before passing, as well as missing an opportunity to take the Exam due to personal reasons. Does the council feel that allowing me to continue to pursue my studies after I had failed the Exam a second time was a waste of the True Cross’ resources? Does it truly seem just to you that you would execute Okumura for being incapable of accomplishing what your chosen Paladin failed to accomplish?” 

Rin turned and stared at Angel. For a moment his mouth hung open in shock, then his eyes filled with amazed gratitude. 

“Based on Okumura’s practical exam I would rank him among the True Cross’ top twenty knights, and that is without drawing his demon sword,” Angel asserted. “He failed the Aria segment of the Exam. I failed the Pharmacology segment repeatedly and still don’t hold a Doctor’s Meister because I lack talent in that area. But this council saw fit to make me Paladin. Was that a mistake?“

Despite their concealing headdresses, Angel could feel the Grigori’s disapproving frowns. He raised his chin stubbornly. “I attest to Okumura’s good character and his dedication to Assiah. He is already a skilled knight. Ordering his execution because his rote memorization skills are poor… Excuse me if I am being dense, my grades as an Exwire clearly show that thinking is not my forte. But I cannot see what Okumura has done that his life should be forfeit.”

Mephisto glanced around the gallery, a cold, hard smile on his face. Then he turned to the Grigori, his face tipped down lost in shadows except for the gleam of his teeth. “It seems, for once, the Paladin and I are in alignment,” he said. “You were going to give Rin-kun another chance anyway, but we will not allow you to claim it is from a sense of mercy or the goodness of your hearts. You will give him another chance because the requirement you have placed on him is unfair and he’s done nothing to deserve being treated thus… Or shall we examine the True Cross’ records and kick out any who failed to pass the Exorcist Exam within their first two opportunities to take it? Or at the very least, publicize the names of all those hypocrites who were unable to meet the standard they are holding Rin to before you execute him?” He tipped his hat back and stared pointedly at Gaspar. 

The bearded Grigori coughed uncomfortably. “Ah, yes, perhaps another extension should be made,” he said.

Mephisto bowed with a sarcastic flourish of his cape, “You are wise,” he said then turned and gestured for Rin to proceed him out of the courtroom.

Once the doors closed behind them Rin asked, “Did I really failed? Or was it just that jerk Snow? Or- or them wanting me to fail?” 

“68% on the written verses and 65% in the oral recitation segment, you needed at least 70% in both to pass.” Mephisto waved his hands dismissively, “But Sir Angel’s failures were also entirely real.”

Angel sighed and put a hand on Rin’s shoulder. “I do empathize with your academic difficulties,” he admitted.

Mephisto leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, “And forty years ago I remember being quite impressed by our current Gaspar’s perseverance as an Exwire... if not by his skill at drawing Summoning Seals. It took him five attempts to pass the Exam and his hand is so unsteady he’s never even attempted to test as a Dragoon or a Knight.” He straightened and concluded in a normal voice, “However, it is also politics, you were supposed to fail, they would have granted another extension but would continue to hold the threat of execution over your head in an attempt to ensure your obedience. Sadly, our current Grigori is much more at home with sticks than carrots.”

* * *

Once the decision was made with regards to Rin’s exam Angel left for Kyoto. Yaozo met him at the branch office and the pair walked to the Shima family home without exchanging a word. 

“I’ll tell Renzo you’re here,” Yaozo said and left Angel standing outside the door. After a few minutes the Paladin heard Yaozo’s voice drift from an open window. “I meant what I said, if you don’t want to leave you don’t have to.”

Tsuzo came out the door then shut it behind her. “Renzo’s packing,” she informed the Paladin.

“Delphi is the best option for him,” Angel stated. After several minutes of awkward silence he asked, “How have you been since leaving the Brigade?”

Tsuzo shrugged, “The dorm-chaperone thing wasn’t a bad way to spend my disciplinary suspension. I had something to do and I got housing and meals included even if the salary Sir Pheles offered was a pittance. I’m coming off suspension in another couple of weeks and you’ve done pretty well by Ryuji-kun and Rin-kun. Would there be any point in my reapplying for the Brigade?”

Angel thought for a moment, “I do acknowledge my handling of the situation caused the escalation and you had a duty to Suguro that superceded your duty to me as your commanding officer. However, we would have realized that Okumura Yukio had faked his brother’s suicide days sooner if no one had interfered in my assigned mission.” 

“I’ll take that to mean ‘send the application’,” Tsuzo replied.

Renzo came out with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. “I’m ready,” he said.

Tsuzo pulled him into a quick hug then ruffled his hair. “Take care kid and pick up the damn phone when we call you this time!” 

“Who knows, I might even call you once and awhile,” Renzo replied with a grin.

“I’ll hold you to that!” Tsuzo called after him.

* * *

Renzo and Angel gated from the Kyoto Branch office back to Tokyo then from Tokyo to Rome and from Rome to a massive cathedral Renzo had never seen before. The air was chilly and damp. “This isn’t Greece,” Renzo exclaimed. “Where the hell are you taking me?” He dropped his duffle bag and reached for his staff fearfully. Dark flames wrapped around him. 

“You are making a scene,” Angel told him.

Renzo brought up his staff to attack Angel and practically before he registered what was happening a sharp blow to his shoulder numbed his arm. The staff clattered to the ground as Renzo’s fingers sprung open. A second blow buckled his knee and then the strap of his duffle bag had been wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. Yamantaka’s black flames could burn a man’s soul to nothing, but against luggage, against anything material, they were nothing more than a light show. 

Renzo stared up at Angel, his heart pounding wildly. He was a better fighter than he’d ever allowed Bon or Konekomaru to see but he hadn’t stood the slightest chance against the sheer speed of the Paladin’s response, hadn’t even been able to force him to draw his sword. “Are you going to kill me?” Renzo asked.

Angel sighed. “If I had orders to kill you I simply would have done it. I loathe subterfuge and believing in accepting responsibility for my actions… There would be many consequences if I were to kill you,” he told Renzo, who looked anything but reassured. “I promised that I would return you to the Lady Gaia and I keep my word. However there is someone I believe you should meet before I bring you to Greece. This is Canterbury.”

“England?!” Renzo exclaimed, his expression dubious. “Who’d care about me in England?”

“Your mother,” Angel replied.

Renzo’s flames flickered and went out. Without protest he allowed Angel to pull him back to his feet and guide him out of the cathedral to a waiting car. Renzo remained staring out the window in a state of shock until Angel turned down a long private drive. At the sight of the manor waiting at the end of the drive Renzo blinked in disbelief. It was stately, not quite a castle but with the weight of many years on the stone. “My mom lives here?” he asked.

“Yes,” Angel replied. “After your birth she felt there was nothing left for her in Japan. She remained in Rome for several years after you were returned to Kyoto. Eventually she was convinced to build a new life for herself here.”

Renzo turned to Angel in a sudden panic. “I don’t even know her name! How do I talk to her?”

“Her name is Koizumi Sachiko, but people here found it a bit of a mouthful. She goes by Sally,” Angel informed him. 

He parked the car in the drive where they were met by a servant. “Sir, Lady Sally and Master Harold are practicing in the ballroom,” the man said. He glanced at Renzo. “I shall put your guest’s bags in the green room?”

“That will do,” Angel replied gesturing for Renzo to hand over his duffle bag. Then Angel started off, presumably to the ballroom. Renzo trailed after Angel, his expression said he was trying very hard find a way that two plus two didn’t add up to four. 

As they turned down a long hallway dominated by a pair of stately double doors the ringing sound of steel on steel filled the air. Angel didn’t look surprised or worried so Renzo didn’t question it. At the last minute Angel turned aside from the double doors and led Renzo down a small side passage to a servant’s entrance and they slipped inside quietly. For a few seconds neither of the sparring pair noticed that they had gained an audience. A slight Japanese woman, her hair pulled back into a simple bun and a boy, ten or eleven years old, his bright gold braid contrasting sharply with the oriental cast to his features lunged back and forth across the polished floor, their blades ringing loudly as steel met steel over and over again. Angel made no move to announce himself or Renzo, he simply observed the spar. 

The swordswoman was fast on her feet and precise in her strikes. The boy was very good for his age, but the over-sized sword he wielded slowed him down, forced him to stay on the defensive, still the heavy blade added power to his blows. The spar ended in a moment; their swords locked, the woman twisted her blade sharply and the boy’s sword flew out of his hand. He lowered his head in surrender.

“You’ve improved,” Angel remarked. 

“Father!” the boy exclaimed, he stiffened notably. 

“Arthur, we weren’t expecting you,” the woman said sounding reserved.

“We’ll be leaving in the morning,” Angel replied drawing the woman’s attention to Renzo. She staggered, paling dramatically as she got first real look at him. Angel frowned in confusion as he caught her elbow to steady her. “It occurred to me that there was no reason for you not to speak to him any longer. Was I mistaken in thinking you wished to meet him?”

The woman took a second look, “Renzo?” she asked. “For a moment I thought- The last time I spoke to a Shima they told me Take was dead, and I thought- But it’s you, you’re my Renzo?”

Renzo swallowed and nodded, all doubts about who she had to be flying away.

“Harold, show me what you’ve learned since I was last here,” Angel ordered guiding the boy away, allowing Rezo and his mother to speak in private.

For a long time they just stared at each other. Sachiko was a head shorter than Renzo, she wore loose pants that gave the impression of being a skirt. “You look so much like your father,” she said then smiled. “Not that I should be surprised, I’ve seen pictures of your uncles and your grandfather and his brothers.”

“Just in case I’m totally misinterpreting things: You’re with the Paladin?” Renzo asked with a grimace. 

“I waited,” Sachiko replied defensively. “For years I fantasized about Take finishing school then taking you away from your grandparents and coming to back for me so we could be a real family. Even after he called and told me he was engaged, that she was a nice girl who understood about you, I still told myself he wouldn’t go through with marrying her. Instead your great uncle came and told me that Take was dead and it would be better if I didn’t come to the funeral.”

“But, Arthur Auguste Angel?” Renzo asked. 

Sachiko’s lips quirked, “He’s a bit stuffy but underneath it he’s a good man. I joined the True Cross just to avoid going back to Japan and studied to be a knight. Take and I were the top competitors in our high school’s kendo club, that was how we met. I didn’t really believe in demons, even though I started seeing them shortly after I got pregnant, but joining the True Cross and studying to become an Exorcist gave me a reason to stay. Arthur had only just qualified as an Exorcist, but he was already a brilliant swordsman, they had him assisting with the better would-be knights. When I stopped coming to class he was conscientious enough to check on me. I’m sure he regretted it terribly when he found me a sobbing wreck sitting in the ruins of my castle of dreams. He was terribly awkward but he tried and he kept showing up until I started going to class again. No one else did anything like that for me after Take died,” she finished bitterly

“So you’re a knight?” Renzo asked uncomfortably.

Sachiko shrugged. “I flunked out, never passed the Exwire Exam.”

“Seriously?”

“One of the most promising swordswomen in years and I freeze when faced with a demon,” Sachiko explained ruefully. “There’s this voice inside my head that starts screaming ‘this can’t be real’ every single time. Eventually my swordsmanship wasn’t good enough for the True Cross to keep wasting resources on me.”

“So, um, you’re not Myodha, or from an Exorcist family,” Renzo sumized. “I mean I guessed that much but…You really couldn’t pass the Exwire Exam? Izumo-chan’s familiars rebelled against her at the start of the exam and she wasn’t any help at all but she still passed.

Sachiko shook her head. “My father was a medical doctor, very modern, very scientific,” she said. “The Head Priest’s son asked for his help to find a treatment for the Myodha Plague, and Father accepted his invitation.” Sachiko grimaced, “But when he went to the temple Father… Well, his bedside manner was nothing to be proud of. He basically marched and informed everyone that there was no such thing as demons and they were a bunch of superstitious yokels. The Head Priest literally threw Father out of the temple, dislocated his shoulder in the process. After that Dad started calling the Myodha a cult, asking if the city government should step in. And there I was, in school with Shima Takezo, whose father served as one of the Myodha high council. At the time, we both considered the whole ‘forbidden love’ aspect very exciting. Then I got pregnant and my father insisted I get an abortion or else never come home again. When I told him that the Myodha weren’t crazy, that I was seeing demons too, I thought he was going to throw me in an asylum. I just didn’t have any choices after that but the Myodha didn’t want me either. They wanted Takezo and they wanted you, but not me.” 

“Oh,” Renzo said softly.

“So I went through with your grandparents’ plan, it seemed like the only thing we could do at the time. Then I waited four years for Take to come back for me. Studying to be an Exorcist was just a way of marking time, something to do to keep myself until I had my family, but Take never came back. A little less than a year after - after I was told he’d died, it became obvious that I wasn’t cut out to be an Exorcist. Arthur and I were friends by then. His family was harassing him about producing an heir, he had no interest in romance and I had no plans, few skills beyond swordsmanship and no where to go. Arthur proposed as a solution to both of our problems. I’d more than had my fill of Romeo and Juliet so I said yes. It works for us.”

* * *

That night Renzo stared at the ceiling in the ornately appointed guestroom he’d been given listening to ancient building’s creaking, wishing it was his brother’s snoring and the associated security of knowing Kinzo would wake him from any nightmares he might have. With a grimace Renzo silently castrated himself for only knowing what he wanted once he’d given it up.

The night interminable night stretched on and on. Renzo tossed and turned until he finally gave up on sleep. Wrapping himself in blankets he pulled an armchair over to the window and stared out at the night thinking about the father he couldn’t remember and a mother he’d never known, until finally dawn broke. Around about the same time a folded sheet of paper was slid under the door. 

Renzo disentangled himself from his cocoon of blankets and picked it up. “Renzo, breakfast is at seven. I know this will undoubtedly sound a little odd, but all meals are a formal affair here. You’ll probably be most comfortable in your True Cross uniform. -Sachiko.”

Remembering Angel’s stiff interactions around his son- ‘My half-brother,’ Renzo thought shaking his head- he didn’t doubt that Sachiko was right. ‘Angel’s more relaxed around Rin and Bon than his own family and that’s considering his issues with demons. That’s messed up.’ Renzo dug through his bag for his Academy uniform. He was pretty sure his refusal to take the Exorcist Exam had served to withdraw him from the Academy but it was the only formal clothing he had with him.

Five minutes before the hour Renzo poked his head out of his room. He found Harold waiting in the hall. 

The younger boy was dressed in a school uniform as well. “Mother asked me to escort you to the dining room,” he said. The boy stared at Renzo with frank curiosity. “Father said you’re fairly good with a K’rik. Sometimes the Arc Knights spar with me when Father brings them here,” he hinted.

“We can ask your dad if there’s time for a spar,” Renzo replied agreeably. “I’m not sure what sort of schedule we’re on.”

“Father almost never brings anyone here unless they’re going to stay a couple of nights in England,” Harold informed Renzo as he led the older boy toward through the mannor. He stopped and stared at Renzo again, “But you’re not one of Father’s subordinates, you’re the one Mom hangs ema at the temple for aren’t you.”

Renzo looked startled. “Why do you think that?” he asked after a moment, finding it hard to believe he could have been in his mother’s thoughts all these years.

“Mother keeps an ihai and a picture of a guy who looks like you in her Butsudan.” Harold paused for a moment, “Grandmother calls the shrine heathenism, but Father told her not to touch it. And he almost never disagrees with Grandmother.” 

Renzo rolled his eyes, ‘Grandmother’ sounded like a real doctrinairian.

“How much demon blood do you have?” Harold asked after a short pause. “Your horns are pretty cool. Mr. Lightning’s something like an eighth, he says his mom’s side of the family had more than one full-demon in the bloodline so it’s not exact. He only has funny eyes.”

Renzo ran his hand through his hair, fluffing up his bangs a little, “You noticed? I was trying to be discrete, figured it was the better part of valor given your dad.”

Harold shrugged, “Your tail wiggles under your shirt sometimes and you’ve got horns. You didn’t say how much demon blood you have.”

“Well, I didn’t actually get it from my birth parents,” Renzo prevaricated. “I’m not sure how you count it.” 

“Oh,” Harold replied frowning. From experience with his younger sister, Renzo knew the topic wasn’t closed, but it was apparently put on hold as the boy opened the door to a cavernous dining room. 

An old woman wearing a high-collared, starched white shirt and an ankle-length dark skirt sat at the head of the long table, Renzo assumed that she must be ‘Grandmother’. Angel sat at her right in his normal all-white attire with Sachiko beside him in clothing similar to the old woman’s. 

The old woman looked Renzo up and down critically, “Well this one apparently can dress itself,” she said to Angel. “I suppose that’s an improvement over that Light-creature you insist on bringing here.”

Sachiko’s mouth dropped. She stared at Renzo with shock and worry in her eyes.

Harold took the seat across from his father, pointing Renzo to the seat across from Sachiko.

“Lightning has told me that he has every intention of doing things to aggravate you, above and beyond simply existing and being the best and only second I will ever accept, so long as you keep calling him a ‘creature’,” Angel reported dutifully, without the slightest hope of initiating change. 

“He is what he is, why should I pretend I don’t see it? Just like this one,” the old woman sniffed. Then she turned to Sachiko, “And you didn’t notice he reeks of Gehenna. The rocks in the garden are more observant.”

“Well, since everyone apparently knows,” Renzo remarked, untucking his shirt. “Keeping my tail hidden like that is driving me up the wall. I don’t know how Rin managed it for a whole term.”

“It’s going to be Lightning all over again, isn’t it?” Angel sighed to himself. His mother looked outraged. Harold stared at Renzo’s tail with blatant fascination until his grandmother scowled fiercely at him, then he spooned some scrambled eggs on to his plate and pretended to be absorbed in his breakfast. After a few bites his stomach rumbled and he dug in for real.

Sachiko made several false starts before finding her voice then exclaimed, “Renzo, what happened to you?”

“Shima Takezo’s familiar merged with him,” Angel said, repeating the story Mephisto had told to the True Cross. “It had parental feelings toward him causing his personality to survive the merger intact.”

Renzo shrugged, “What he said. Yamantaka’s looked out for me ever since Take died. When the Illuminati captured me, it was the only he could do to save me, even though it cost him his life.”

Sachiko’s shoulders hunched, for a moment she squeezed her eyes shut and Renzo was afraid she was going to start crying. Not knowing what else to do, he sat down and followed Harold’s example, digging into breakfast like there was no tomorrow. The sound of cutlery against plates echoed loudly through silence only occasionally broken by muted requests to pass a dish.

“We’ll leave for Thebes at nine,” Angel told Renzo. “There’s a helicopter scheduled to pick up a few of the remaining diplomats from Delphi, you can get a ride with them.” 

Renzo nodded in agreement. After breakfast ended he went upstairs to pack. Once he was done he found Sachiko lingering uncertainly at the foot of the stairs. “What’s your email?” he asked her impulsively as he pull out his phone. 

“It’s SAngel@btinternet.co.uk.”

“‘Kay,” Renzo typed quickly, “now you have my cellphone number and my email. We were already pretty good at keeping our smartphones working at Delphi so you and I’ll be able to stay in touch, um, get to know each other.”

Sachiko smiled brittle, little smile. “I’d like that,” she said offering him her hand.

Renzo bypassed the offered handshake and hugged her briefly. “Stop looking so guilty,” he muttered, his face flushing red. “I’m okay.” 

Sachiko returned the hug with all her strength. “I never wanted to give you up,” she told him.


	38. Epilogue: Stepping Forward

“Earlier this week the World’s Governments reacted with confusion and disbelief as Greek officials formally recognized the sovereignty of the State of Delphi, ceding control of nearly twenty percent of the country to the so-called goddess Gaia in the person of her earthly representative the Oracle of Delphi, a seventeen-year-old citizen of Japan, Moriyama Shiemi.”

The television droned on repeating the top news story of the week for the dozenth time that day while Rin, Bon, Konekomaru and Izumo watched and wondered if there would be any new information or just another rehashing of what had been said before. 

Three very official looking letters lay ignored on the table by the door in the lobby of the Old Dorm.

The door slammed open and the first year Exwires stomped in, fresh from the new term’s first day of classes. “Killing the headmaster wouldn’t be murder would it?” Ueno growled. “He is a demon afterall.”

The older students traded a knowing smirk. “An understandable wish, but hardly a practical plan for a bunch of Exwires who just got the ‘why you all failed’ speech,” Konekomaru remarked.

“So did he pair you guys up with each other or was that just our class?” Bon asked.

“I’m switching to be a Knight-candidate,” Ueno declared. “Pheles wouldn’t let me pair with Suzuki-kun otherwise.”

“And I can’t channel enough energy to Yips, so he said both Ito-kun and I would be Mana-chan’s protectors,” Godain sighed. 

“Which left me the odd man out,” Maki said. “He stuck me with Ueno and Suzuki, ‘because it looks like chaperones are going to be important this year’,” he finished mimicking Mephisto. 

“Nisan went on about your relationships like they’re for his personal amusement didn’t he?” Rin surmised. 

Godain and Mana glanced at each other and blushed then they glanced at Ito and turned an even brighter shade of red. Ueno snarled inarticulately. Suzuki stuck his nose in the air and ignored Rin. “I will too get a girlfriend someday,” Maki muttered. 

“These look important,” Ito remarked picking up the letters in an attempt to change the subject.

Izumo, Bon and Konekomaru glanced at the letters then at Rin guiltily. Rin rolled his eyes, “You guys are acting like Yukio when he started getting acceptance letters from the High Schools he applied to. Open them, I’m happy for you.”

Reluctantly the other three took the letters from Ito and opened them. “I got both my Aria and Dragoon Meister,” Bon reported. “But they docked points the General Exam for not paring down my answers to essential information.”

Konekomaru quietly slipped his letter in his pocket.

Izumo scanned through hers a second time then glared venomously at Maki. “What did I do?” he asked shifting to put Suzuki between himself and Izumo.

Bon plucked the letter out of Izumo’s hand, “In short, she didn’t get her Knight Meister because you suck as an opponent. ‘Failed to provide an adequate demonstration of skills’.” He scowled, his competitive nature overriding his worry about Rin for a moment. “Kamiki and I tied for fourth rank on the General Exam. How’d you do, Konekomaru?”

“Well, um,” Konekomaru stammered.

Rin slipped the letter out of Konekomaru’s pocket, “Wow! You aced it!” he exclaimed. “And you got to skip a rank, you’re a Lower 1st Class Exorcist already.” 

Both Bon and Izumo gapped enviously at Konekomaru. 

“Congratulations!” Rin exclaimed.

Bon and Izumo glanced at each other, shame-faced. “Congratulation,” they echoed and Bon slapped Konekomaru on the shoulder.

* * *

The moment the helicopter touched down in the Delphi Arena Renzo grabbed his duffle bag and hopped out. Ducking low against the wind of the still spinning blades he ran across the grassy stadium to the first row of seats where Shiemi was waiting. 

“I’ve been so worried about you,” she exclaimed, flinging her arms around him and hugging him with all her might.

Renzo closed his eyes and let his cheek rest on top of Shiemi’s head, “I missed you,” he whispered. He stroked her back and she nuzzled into his chest.

Egyn and Amaimon glared down at Renzo from opposite sides of the arena, occasionally taking a moment to scowl at each other as well. At first, Gaia’s overwhelming presence swamped Renzo’s senses, but it didn’t take long for him to feel the weight of their disapproving stares. Renzo’s demon heart, trapped between himself and Shiemi, pulsed and his pupils expanded until his eyes were filled with black fire. He tilted his head up challengingly and glared back at the two ancient Hell Kings over the top of Shiemi’s head. ‘If they think I scare off that easily… Man are they in for a surprise,” he thought.


End file.
